


Hit by a Meteorite

by beccerslynnfics



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2021-02-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:00:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 53,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27637877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beccerslynnfics/pseuds/beccerslynnfics
Summary: Karasuno is facing off against Inarizaki and have managed to take the first set and the lead in the second set. But Inarizaki has just blocked Hinata's quick and Miya Atsumu is up to serve. He sends the ball up, into the air, and crashing down towards Karasuno like a meteorite hurling towards Earth. Kageyama can see it coming, but can't do anything to stop it, and it's heading straight for...
Relationships: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio
Comments: 16
Kudos: 64





	1. A Meteorite that No One Could Stop

Karasuno was already seven points ahead and the second set seemed to be coming to a close. A third set wouldn’t even be necessary if the guys could just keep up this rhythm and quickly score a few more points. If all went well, this would be the first time that Karasuno had beaten Inarizaki so quickly, and Kageyama couldn’t keep himself from allowing a wide grin to spread across his face as he locked eyes with the boys on the other side of the net. 

Some seemed relatively composed given the situation they were in, but there were some on the team who were definitely letting their disappointment and frustration show clearly on their faces. Miya Atsumu, especially, let a dark curtain of anger strain the movements of his body and conceal the expression on his face as he moved through his rotation and took up the position of server. 

Kageyama scoffed. It was lucky for them that they somehow managed to block Hinata’s last weirdo quick and secure a serve for themselves, but he would make sure they didn’t get another chance like that. He turned his head back and let his eyes dart quickly to the side, locking onto Hinata’s position a few paces away from him. Hinata nodded, a smile stretching across his face as he seemed to understand Kageyama’s wordless message.

_ Another quick, next chance we get.  _

Kageyama whipped his head back to attention as the music of Inarizaki’s fan band went silent, Atsumu’s hand raised in a fist to usher in complete focus. The frustration on his face was clear as day now, a darkness clouding his eyes in a way Kageyama had never seen before. He gritted his teeth before he threw the ball into the air and moved forward to slam it across the net. 

Every chance Atsumu had gotten to serve thus far during the second set, he had targeted Karasuno’s libero, Nishinoya Yuu. It was something Kageyama and other Karasuno players had come to predict in the few games they had played against Inarizaki, and they had even drilled over and over again in practice to try to combat it. But Atsumu’s serves were amazing, and Nishinoya only managed to touch the ball a handful of times in every game. Now, Kageyama reflexively felt himself moving backwards, trying to cover any open space around Nishinoya to give Atsumu a smaller attack area. 

Reflex wasn’t everything in volleyball, and Kageyama groaned internally as he saw the ball shoot across the net in the complete opposite direction. This was not one of Atsumu’s usual serves, not only due to its direction, but also its speed and power. All of the rage that had been building up inside Atsumu during the set seemed to be flying out of him now, propelling the ball forward with a ferocious tenacity. There was no way Nishinoya would be able to receive this monster ball, so the guys on the other side of the court would have to try. 

But there was no time to try, no time to even think, as, like Kageyama, the others hadn’t been on their guard for the unexpected change. The ball sailed over head after head, almost supplying Kageyama with the hope that it would go out of bounds, until it finally started arcing downward. Amazingly, the ball lost no speed as it went, shooting down almost like a meteorite that no one could stop. Until--

WHUMP!

Kageyama willed every muscle in his body to move, but he felt himself stuck frozen to the court as he watched the volleyball sail straight into Hinata’s face with a horrendous cracking sound. The ball had been impossible to receive or even see coming for Hinata, as other team members had been scrambling around in front of him, trying to get to it. The impossible force behind the ball was enough to send Hinata’s tiny body flying backwards, crash landing into Captain Sawamura behind him. Kageyama’s mouth fell open as the back of Hinata’s head slammed into Daichi’s chest and then made hard contact with the ground as Daichi toppled over. The ball bounced three times next to his shoulder, then rolled back towards the net and Kageyama’s feet. The whole gym was silent.

“Hinata!” Kageyama felt the composure seep slowly back into his mind as he screamed and ran across the court. Daichi was sitting up slowly, but Hinata was motionless, draped like a rag over one of Daichi's legs with blood pooling from his nose onto the gymnasium floor. A large purple bruise was already blooming around his left eye. “Oi! Hinata!” 

As he and the other Karasuno players reached the jumbled mess of bodies on the floor, Kageyama let his own body collapse beneath him and slid on his knees to Hinata’s side. He carefully placed one hand under Hinata’s back and the other under his head, lifting him up slowly while Daichi scooted out from under him and kneeled across from Kageyama. Hinata’s eyes were still closed as Kageyama rested his head carefully back down on the ground.

“Emergency time out!” the referee shouted as Coach Ukai raced onto the court without waiting for permission. 

He was followed by both team managers, Shimizu Kiyoko and Yachi Hitoka, carrying bundles of towels in their hands. Yachi carefully folded a towel and slipped it under Hinata’s head while Shimizu sat down next to Kageyama and held another over Hinata’s nose, careful to make sure his mouth was open to keep his breathing steady. 

“Sawamura, are you hurt at all?” Ukai placed a hand gingerly on Daichi’s shoulder.

“No,” he shook his head slowly as he rubbed at it. “I might have a small bump, but I’m fine. We need to focus on Hinata.”

“There’s an infirmary just down the hall,” Ukai spoke again as he picked up Hinata’s wrist and placed two fingers against it. He paused for a moment, glancing down at his watch. He was checking Hinata’s pulse, Kageyama realized. Then he nodded. “I think they can attend to him there. Sawamura, you go, too. Just to be safe.”

Kageyama had been quiet this whole time, balling his fists in the fabric of his shorts as he watched the color draining out of Hinata’s face. Their conversation had been flowing in one ear and out the other, but when he heard Ukai’s plan, he sprung into action. Kageyama reached forward and scooped Hinata’s body carefully into his arms, careful to support his head, then stood and started rushing towards the door of the gym.

“Kageyama!” Ukai’s harsh voice reverberated down his spine. “We’re still in the middle of a game here, and you’re a starting player. We can’t just abandon it.”

Kageyama turned reluctantly and tightened his grip around Hinata’s torso, rising and falling only slightly with the effort of his breathing. “We don’t have time for this!” he growled back.

Ukai’s eyes widened slightly at the response, but he stepped closer and placed a hand on Kageyama’s shoulder. “Hand him over to Sugawara, he’s on the bench right now and he’ll take care of him.” Kageyama turned to see Sugawara jogging over from the bench, and he reluctantly outstretched his arms as Sugawara scooped up Hinata’s weight. As he carried Hinata out of the gym with Daichi walking cautiously at his side, Ukai raised a hand towards the bench again. “Ennoshita, you’re in for Sawamura. Tsukishima for Hinata.”

As the two players jogged onto the court and Coach Ukai and the managers stepped off, Kageyama breathed deeply. He hadn’t noticed, but he had been holding his breath ever since he lost sight of Hinata as he was carried away. Now, he surveyed the faces of the players around him. Everyone was sweating and visibly shaken, even the two who had just joined the current players. Azumane was pulling at the loose hair in his bun, his eyes on the floor where Shimizu had mopped up Hinata’s blood. Tanaka was absentmindedly unrolling and rerolling the tape on his fingers, his eyes seeming almost clouded over. Nishinoya was still kneeling on the floor a few feet away from the ball, now flecked with drops of blood, staring at it.

As Yachi ran back onto the court with a clean ball, handed it to the ref, and scooped up the bloodied one with a towel before racing off again, Kageyama returned to his position near the net and trained his eyes on the Inarizaki team. They had been standing around nonchalantly, some talking quietly, others stretching, none coming over to check on the injured players. Miya Atsumu stood quietly in his position at the back of the court, waiting for his chance to serve again and picking dirt out from beneath his fingernails with a bored expression plastered across his face. 

A sudden burst of rage boiled over inside Kageyama as he stared at the server, his hands balling into fists again. “Oi, Miya!” The other twin, Osamu, looked over from the other side of the court, his eyes widening, but Atsumu just raised his eyes to meet Kageyama’s without any other noticeable change. 

“Hmm?” Atsumu mumbled.

“You didn’t even check to see if he was okay?! You just made a huge mistake! You just lost this game for yourself. We’re going to crush you for that.”

“Oh! Have fun trying!” A sudden indication of emotion finally crossed over his face as he began chuckling, then breaking into full-force laughter. “You think any of you can receive a ball like  _ that one _ again? By my guest!”

After the ball passed from the referee, along through the other members of Inarizaki, and finally reached Atsumu, he slammed it forcefully into the ground four times before the whistle blew and he raised it into the air again. 

Kageyama didn’t care if he was a setter, if others on the team were better suited to passing it onto him. He was going to receive Miya Atsumu’s meteorite ball, and damn the consequences. 

As the ball sailed over the net again, Kageyama locked his eyes onto it and willed his feet to move faster than he thought he was capable of. But he wasn’t the only Karasuno player who had found a new determination from what had just unfolded. As the ball began its fiery descent onto the court, Kageyama watched as Nishinoya leapt into the air and sailed across the court, landing hard on his stomach but getting a touch on the ball, changing its trajectory and sending it straight to him. Kageyama scanned his teammates rapidly, wishing more than ever that he could take a long look at the shock that was probably on Atsumu’s face at Nishinoya’s dramatically successful receive, but he shook his head and selected an open player. 

Just as the ball made contact with the tips of his fingers, Kageyama applied a small amount of force and sent it careening towards Azumane Asahi, who was dashing towards the net. He jumped up and slammed it into the ground on the other side, just behind Miya Osamu and Rintaro Suna as their block failed. 

“Yes!” Kageyama screamed, slapping Asahi’s outstretched hand as he passed by, then offering a hand to Nishinoya as he was returning to his feet. They were now only two points away from taking the game, and it was Karasuno’s serve. 

“You’ve got this!” Nishinoya said as he brushed off his clothes and moved over to his position on the court.

“For Hinata and Dai-san!” Tanaka yelled from his location near the net as Kageyama took a deep breath and began walking to the corner of the court where he would throw the ball up. 

“Mmm!” Kageyama nodded, catching the ball as the referee passed it to him. He looked over to the bench for any note of confidence that Ukai could offer nonverbally, then noticed that Sugawara was standing with the other players, back from dropping off Hinata in the infirmary. He scanned the bench, and saw that Daichi, too, was back. He sat next to Takeda-sensei and pressed a small bag of ice against the back of his head. No sign of Hinata yet. 

Kageyama’s blood began to boil, so he spun the ball a few times in his hands to regain a sense of focus, then locked eyes with Atsumu on the other side of the net.  _ This is the end,  _ he mouthed, hoping Atsumu was able to read his lips and hoping he himself had enough talent and focus left to actually make his words a reality. Just two more points… 

Atsumu’s sudden smile, locking his eyes onto Kageyama’s, was proof enough that he had figured out Kageyama’s words and was betting against him. Atsumu crouched low, hands at the ready, and the others on his side of the court followed suit. A sudden blast from the ref’s whistle ripped Kageyama away from watching and recentered his vision on the ball, and on the little specks of blood just before his feet that had been missed in the cleanup earlier. 

_ Time for me to knock that smile right off your face, idiot,  _ Kageyama sneered as he thought to himself, raising the ball and releasing it into the air, then rushing forward and pushing all his strength into his legs to lift off of the ground. He brought his arm forward and let his hand smash into the ball, causing it to soar far above the net. This approach was risky, but he needed to do it for Hinata. He prayed that it would work as the ball began traveling towards the ground and… 

“Hell yeah!” Kageyama jumped into the air as the ball slammed straight into the ground just feet in front of Atsumu, who couldn’t help a small state of shock from emerging in his expression. A perfect service ace.

“Nice serve, Kageyama! One more, Kageyama!” Both the Karasuno fans in the stands and the players around him cheered.

One more, and Karasuno would win. Miya Atsumu would get what was coming to him.

_ Come on Tobio,  _ Kageyama tried to hype himself up internally.  _ Hinata deserved to take Atsumu down with our quick, so win this for him! _


	2. Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karasuno needs one more point to win the match, and Kageyama is fuming mad. He hopes to channel his anger into some sort of positive energy to win the match, but that's easier said than done.

The crowd had never been this silent before when Kageyama was serving; even Inarizaki’s fans who loved to mercilessly boo Karasuno were sitting quietly with their hands pressed up against their mouths or balled in fists at their knees. Kageyama dropped his head down to the court again, not wanting this momentary reprieve from the noise to come as a distraction in itself. 

“One more… Focus,” he whispered as he gripped the ball tightly in his hands, running them over the seams that held the ball’s outside layer together. He let out a breath that he hadn’t even noticed he had been holding in, then slammed the ball against the ground a few times before looking up at the backs of his teammates in front of him and the leering eyes of the team on the other side of the net. 

The other Miya twin, Osamu, was staring at him from directly across the net, no sense of emotion crossing over his face, but Kageyama could feel the dagger-eyes of his twin brother boring into him even from the back end of the court. The pressure from his stare, even though Kageyama refused to even look in his direction, was enough to rattle him, so he bounced the ball a few more times.

The shrill cry of the referee’s whistle meant that his time to think was over. Kageyama needed to act now, and he needed to wrap this up quickly to let Inarizaki, Atsumu especially, know that their actions today had a hell of a consequence. Kageyama let that thought rest in the back of his mind as he raised his hand into the air and tossed the ball up, then stepped forward and slammed his hand into it with all the force he could muster.

_ Come on, service ace!  _ Kageyama thought frantically as he watched the ball soar through the air and over the net, his heartbeat quickening with anxiety. 

Just as Kageyama was practically sure he had seen the ball hit the ground behind Osamu, Inarizaki’s ace, Ojiro Aran, was there to receive it with a full-on belly flop onto the court, shooting the ball back into the air with his hands less than a second before it hit the ground. Kageyama didn’t even have time to mentally curse before the ball had touched the hands of Miya Atsumu, who set the ball to his brother. 

Rather than watching in horror at the sight of the ball traveling back over to Karasuno’s side, however, Kageyama felt his legs begin to move as his volleyball brain suppressed his emotions. He moved forward just as Nishinoya managed to receive the ball to the left in front of him, almost belly flopping in the same manner as the Inarizaki ace, then received his toss and set it to Tanaka who was closest to the net.

_ Please, Tanaka, make it over!  _

Things were always half-and-half with Tanaka, at least in Kageyama’s mind, so it didn’t sit well with him that he was setting to him now. But they needed to win this game  _ now,  _ they couldn’t let Inarizaki score any more points and drag the game on any longer. Plus, Tanaka had had more good spikes than bad ones recently, so Kageyama was beginning to trust him more and more. 

Things seemed to go in slow motion as the ball traveled through the air between him and Tanaka. He could see every decision racing through the other boy’s mind on how to move, jump and position his hand to get the best possible hit on the ball, and Kageyama was thankful for it. Tanaka was really working hard, harder than Kageyama had really ever seen him work before, to not only rely on power, but to think things through to come up with the best outcome. So when the ball made contact with Tanaka’s fingers and he spiked it hard over the net, it sailed across the court and a huge smile spread across Kageyama’s face. The ball had landed, again, at the feet of Miya Atsumu. So Tanaka had taken a risk too, and it had paid off. Game over.

“Yes!” Nishinoya screamed behind Kageyama, then tackled him as they both rushed over to Tanaka, the other players following right behind them. 

The group offered hugs and high-fives to each other, Asahi even grabbing Tanaka around the neck and playfully rubbing at his shaved head, before finally settling down as the referee started calling for the teams to line up. They jogged over to the rest of the team and assembled in a line, facing the members of Inarizaki. 

Finally, Kageyama had the chance to actually look at the members of the other team, but the second he saw them, he wished he hadn’t. The Miya twins stood in the middle of their line of players, Atsumu glaring at him with a stone-cold expression. Kageyama could almost read a sense of shock in the boy’s eyes, but he turned his glare onto Tanaka before Kageyama could be sure. Scanning the faces of the other Inarizaki players, Kageyama could tell that many of them felt the same way, absolutely dumbfounded that they had lost to the crows in only two sets.

Kageyama could only let himself feel happy about it for a second though, because his uncertainty over Hinata’s condition took hold of his tired body. As the two teams bowed to each other and offered their thanks for a “great” match, he felt a similar sense of anger register in his own voice and heard it in many voices of Karasuno players as well. Because of what had happened today, with Hinata still not present in the gymnasium by the end of the game, these two teams would not be parting on good terms. 

After the teams were allowed to go, Ukai pulled the Karasuno players into a small circle at the court-side bench. Before he could begin his post-game talk, Kageyama raced over to him with his bag slung over one shoulder.

“Sir, can I please be excused to go and check on Hinata?”

Ukai paused, as if about to prepare a lecture about how he needed to stay with the team until they were all ready, but his face softened as Kageyama looked into his eyes, waiting for a response. “Fine, go then. I’ll recap for you when I come to see him too.”

“Thank you!” Kageyama bowed quickly before dashing out of the gym ahead of Inarizaki’s team, who were on their way to the locker room. Before Kageyama got much farther, though, members of Karasuno were running past Inarizaki as well.

“Wait up, Kageyama!” Nishinoya called to him, dragging a rather frazzled Yamaguchi behind him. Sawamura walked behind them, now holding the ice pack in front of him while he talked with Sugawara quietly. Behind them trailed Azumane, Tanaka, and the rest of the team. Even the managers, Takeda, and Ukai were all on their way.

“Don’t look so weirded out, King of the Court,” Tsukishima half-sneered at Kageyama as he pulled his headphones out of the bag at his side. “The team convinced Coach to see Hinata first and talk later. Wasn’t that hard with you already making a scene, so he must be more worried about the kid than he’s letting on.”

“Oh, right,” Kageyama replied softly, turning back to face the hallway in front of him. He couldn’t tell if Tsukishima was trying to be reassuring or unnerving, but he was definitely more so the latter. 

Kageyama shifted his vision to the ground and tried not to think about anything except moving one foot ahead at a time. The others around him seemed to be in similar states, as their conversation was hushed or nonexistent. As they finally reached the door of the small room known as the sports facilities’ infirmary, conversation halted altogether. 

Kageyama was the first one to get to the door, and he stood in front of it for a moment before reaching forward and opening it. As he walked into the room, he glanced around to see that it was indeed small, with a desk in one corner and two beds at the other end of the room near an open window. A middle-aged woman stood next to the bed at the window, her hair neatly pinned into a bun at the nape of her neck and a pin stuck to the front of her sweater marking her title as “nurse.” She turned as the other members of the team began to come into the room, forcing Kageyama to come closer. 

“Oh, hello there!” The woman beamed and offered a small wave, setting down the bundle she was holding on the table between the two beds. “You must be the teammates of my patient here.” 

As the nurse stepped around the nearer bed to come closer to the group, Kageyama was finally able to see the entire bed behind her. Hinata lay on top of the sheets, still dressed in his volleyball uniform but with his shoes missing, only wearing socks, his eyes closed. Blood stained the front of his uniform, but it looked like his nose had stopped bleeding and the nurse had cleaned up his face.

“Hinata?” Kageyama passed the nurse as she approached and inched towards the bed where he lay. “Has he not woken up yet?”

“I’m afraid not, dear, but I think he’ll be coming around very soon.”

Kageyama shot a nervous glance up at Coach Ukai, who stood in the doorway just behind the rest of the team. The coach scratched the back of his head nervously and averted his gaze in response. 

“Sawamura, are you feeling better, hun?” the nurse asked caringly as she walked over to the team captain and gently took the pack of melting ice out of his hands. “I’ll take care of this, sweetie,” she said as he nodded, then added, “You all are welcome to wait here for Hinata to wake up, however, I will have to excuse myself to get some more ice. I’ve used up all my stock on these two! I would appreciate it if one of you could look after him while I am gone. There is a pack of ice on the table over there.”

Kageyama followed with his gaze as the woman pointed to the bundle she had set down earlier, then took it from the table as she slipped past Ukai and disappeared down the hall. 

As he approached the bed where Hinata slept, Kageyama could see that he looked even worse now than he had in the gym. The bruising around his eye had set in a deep purple color and there was swelling there and around his nose. Kageyama carefully sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over him, being as careful as he could as he applied gentle pressure with the ice over Hinata’s eye. 

“Coach Ukai…” a soft voice spoke up from near the nurse’s desk, where a handful of the players had collected to make room for the nurse to pass by. Yamaguchi moved forward until he was visible to everyone in the room. “Was Miya-san actually aiming for Hinata’s face, do you think?”

Ukai folded his arms together and moved farther into the room. “There’s no way to really tell now, kid. The ref didn’t reprimand him or anything, so he must’ve thought it was just an accident. I mean, players get hit in the face all the time.”

“But not like this!” Daichi moved forward from his spot by Sugawara until he was closer to the center of the room, face-to-face with Ukai. “I mean, serves are generally aimed downward to target the ground, but that ball went straight forward with so much force that he flew back into me…”

“Now, hold on boys. I know this is frustrating, but it’s in poor taste to accuse another team of intentional violence when the match is over and it hasn’t been officially called on the court. It will be best if we all just move on from this and focus on making sure Hinata is okay now.”

Daichi made no move to respond, so Yamaguchi and the others all kept silent as well. Kageyama turned his attention back to tending to Hinata’s face, now moving the ice pack slightly so that it covered a swollen portion of Hinata’s nose as well. 

As the others began talking quietly in groups behind him, Kageyama did his best to clear his mind and keep himself from getting angry. There was no point to it anymore, with the game won and the other team gone. What should have felt like an epic victory had things played out differently just felt fake with the way it had had to come about. He moved the ice pack again to focus on Hinata’s cheekbone, where the darkest bruising had appeared, when suddenly, Hinata’s eyes began to flutter.

“Oi, Hinata!” Kageyama called him quietly, but with urgence, as he pulled the ice pack away from the boy’s face. The others in the room lifted their heads at Kageyama’s tone. 

After a short moment, Hinata slowly moved his head around against the pillow, then opened his eyes. Both hands instantly shot upwards and he clutched his forehead, letting out a soft groan.

“Hinata, hey,” Kageyama reached forward with his free hand and placed it on top of Hinata’s head, the rest of the room watching silently. “Are you in pain?”

“Kage...yama…?” Hinata pulled his arms away from his face and looked up, squinting a bit at the fluorescent lights above Kageyama’s head. “I, uh… what happened?”

“Here,” Kageyama folded Hinata’s hands around the pack of ice and pressed it up against his face, then helped Hinata to sit up as Nishinoya ran over and pulled the pillow up for him to sit against. “You were hit pretty badly by Miya Atsumu. You don’t remember?”

Hinata didn’t speak for a second as he traced the bruising along his face with his fingers. “The last thing I remember seeing was him serving. I don’t remember what direction the ball went or anything else. What happened with the rest of the game. It’s over now, isn’t it? Everyone’s still in uniform...” Hinata scanned the concerned faces in the room as he spoke.

“Yes, Hinata, it’s over.” Ukai spoke as he stepped forward, seeming relieved to see Hinata up and talking. “And we won! Nishinoya, Kageyama and Tanaka delivered the winning play.”

“Oh!” Hinata beamed, flinching a little bit as his cheek moved. “Good!”

“Keep that ice on your face, idiot,” Kageyama jokingly pulled Hinata’s arm up to his face again. “You’re covered in bruises and you slammed hard into the captain, so you might have some bruising on the back of your head, too.”

Hinata’s eyes widened. “Oh, Dai-san, I’m sorry!” He bowed his head slightly before Daichi started waving his hands frantically to stop. 

“It’s fine, Hinata! I’m glad I was there to brace your fall.”

A sudden knock on the doorframe silenced the laughter that had erupted at their interaction, and the team turned to look at the door behind them. Kurosu, Inarizaki’s coach, stood in the doorway with the entire team behind him, all now in sweatpants after showering and changing in the locker room. 

“May we come in?” he asked, not looking to Ukai, but instead to Hinata.

“Uh… sure.” Hinata said, lowering his hands into his lap. Kageyama had to restrain himself from yelling at the boy to keep the ice on his face this time. 

The team filed into the room, the Karasuno players crowding around the nurse’s station and backing up against the walls to make room for them. They did their best to form two straight lines as the coach stayed by the door behind them. The Miya twins were again in the middle of the first row, and Atsumu was the first to move as the team leaned forward into an extended bow.

As one, the team spoke. “We are sorry for any harm we caused you during the previous match. We should have been more careful and kept our emotions in check as we played, so that we could maintain good sportsmanship and be worthy opponents for you. We truly hope that you are not badly injured and that you have a speedy recovery. We hope to face you again in the future as better players and play a game that is both competitive and respectful. We hope that you will forgive us and, again, we apologize deeply.”

The team finished speaking, but made no motion to straighten out of their deep bow. Kageyama glanced back at Hinata, whose eyes were wide despite the swelling around them. After a moment, he seemed to realize that they were waiting for him to say something in return.

“Um… Thank you for your apology. I forgive you. Accidents happen, right?” Hinata offered a small chuckle, but there was no energy in his voice and Kageyama could tell that he was grasping at something to say to the team. He seemed too tired to deal with them at that moment, so Kageyama stood up from the bedside. 

“Did you need anything else?” Kageyama spoke, directing his voice at Atsumu as he tried to hold back the snarl in his tone. Atsumu straightened up, as did the others.

“No, we’ll leave you in peace now,” the coach replied for him, waving a hand to start ushering the players out of the room. He nodded briefly at Coach Ukai before leaving himself. 

“Kurosu-san, may I have a word?” Ukai followed the other coach out of the room as the Inarizaki players continued making their way through the door. 

Soon, Miya Atsumu was the last Inarizaki player left in the room. Before he left, however, he moved forward so that he was in the exact center of the room, Karasuno players flanking him on both sides from their positions at the walls. 

_ Bold of you to stay here alone, huh, Atsumu?  _ Kageyama thought as he felt his fists balling up.

“Oh, relax, Kageyama-san,” Atsumu folded his arms as he stood firmly and eyed Kageyama’s fists. “I’ll be on my way shortly. I just had a little extra something to add on to what my team said. A little correction, I guess. And here it is: I’m only sorry that Inarizaki didn’t win.”

Then he bolted for the door and slammed it behind him before any of the Karasuno players around him could even have time to react, offering a chuckle through the door as he walked away. Kageyama kicked at the table beside Hinata’s bed while others amongst the team began hurling insults.

“What a dick!”

“Who does he think he is?”

“That prick can’t get away with this!”

“Guys!” Hinata slumped forward, cupping his forehead in his hands. Everyone went silent immediately as he spoke again. “I have a massive headache and all this yelling is kinda making it worse.”

“Sorry, Shoyo,” Nishinoya said beside Kageyama, placing a hand briefly on Hinata’s shoulder. 

“Get that ice back on your face, idiot,” Kageyama said, taking the ice from Hinata’s lap as he pushed him back against the pillow. Hinata closed his eyes as Kageyama began pressing lightly against his bruises.

_ They’re all right,  _ Kageyama thought as he watched Hinata try to resist the impulse to flinch at Kageyama’s slight movements.  _ He can’t get away with acting like that, but what can we do about it? They’re probably leaving the building right now, so who knows when we’ll ever see them again. And their school is basically halfway across the country in Hyogo Prefecture, so there’s no way we could convince Ukai or Takeda to allow us all to follow them back and track them down there… Hinata doesn’t seem that bothered by it though, and I guess that’s what really matters. Maybe I should just let it go. _

“Uh, Kageyama?” Hinata had apparently been trying to get his attention--great, he had zoned out. “The ice is pretty much melted now.”

“Great,” Kageyama mumbled back.

“Are you okay?”

“What? Yeah, I’m fine. You should see yourself. You’re the one you need to be worried about.” He turned and looked out the window to avoid any other probing looks from Hinata, and stuck the melted pack of ice right back onto his bruised cheek. “Also, this is better than nothing, so deal with it.”


	3. Sleep / Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama is still on-edge, even though Hinata is awake and seemingly okay. He still needs to be cleared to head home, so what will the nurse say about his health and his chance to get back into the swing of playing volleyball sometime soon? Hinata's road to recovery might be longer than he can wait patiently for, and Kageyama doesn't know if he can take the emotional strain either.

A few moments after Kageyama had finally given up on using the now-completely melted ice and had placed the bag that contained it onto the bedside table, the nurse returned to the room hauling a large bucket at her side.

“Oh, miss, can I help you?” Sugawara leapt up from his position leaning against the nurse’s desk and gingerly took the bucket from her.

“Thank you, dear! What a sweet boy! Follow me this way,” the nurse beamed as she led him around the desk to a small freezer in the corner of the room. After Sugawara deposited the contents of the bucket into the freezer, the nurse shuffled some of the ice into a bag and joined the team members who were huddling around Kageyama and Hinata at the bed. “Oh, Hinata dear! You’re awake! I thought you would be coming around soon. I’m the nurse who has been taking care of you, although I did slip out to get some more ice and your teammates took over that task from me for a moment.

“Now,” she turned to face the other Karasuno players, “it is getting a bit crowded in here and I need to give Hinata an examination before I can clear him to leave. I’m sure all of you are a bit less anxious now, so please go to the locker room and change out of your uniforms. If everything is okay, Hinata will join you there shortly.”

Many of the players nodded or bowed slightly as they got up to leave, but Kageyama stood stiffly at the end of Hinata’s bed after getting out of the nurse’s way.

“I’d like to stay if that’s alright, ma’am. I wouldn’t feel good having Hinata walk around the facilities by himself after losing consciousness, even if he is cleared to be moving around. He should have at least one of us with him on his way back.”

“Alright then,” the nurse replied with a slight hint of surprise in her voice. She turned to Hinata, whose face registered an even greater sense of surprise from his slightly open mouth. “You’re very lucky to have such caring and loyal teammates, Hinata.”

“Yeah… I am.” Hinata shot Kageyama a quizzical look as the other boys filed out of the room, but he didn’t have time to ask any questions before the nurse set in on him.

“This will take a few minutes, so please feel free to take a seat at my desk or make yourself comfortable somewhere else in the room,” the nurse spoke over her shoulder to Kageyama as she handed Hinata the ice she had been holding and pulled a small white flashlight out of the pocket of her sweater. He followed her directive, but kept his eyes trained on her movements from across the room. 

“Alright, Hinata, I’m going to ask you a few questions and then move on to some small tasks I’d like you to do for me. Feel free to keep that ice on your face as we go. First of all, I’m sure your face is feeling a little tender, but how is your head? Do you have a headache?”

“Yes ma’am.”

“Where exactly is it located?”

“Kinda in the middle of my forehead.”

“Okay, on a scale of one to ten, how would you rate the pain?”

“Uh… I dunno, it’s not as bad now as it was a few minutes ago. Maybe a four?”

“Okay,” the nurse nodded mostly to herself, making Kageyama a bit nervous about what that meant for Hinata. She continued. “Anything like nausea, lightheadedness, dizziness or drowsiness bothering you?”

“No ma’am, I feel pretty awake and good except for the headache.”

“Great!” The nurse beamed, alleviating some of the nerves causing butterflies to roll around in Kageyama’s stomach. “Now I’m going to move onto those tasks I mentioned. To start, I’m going to check your sensitivity to light. Just relax, and follow this light with your eyes.”

The nurse placed one hand on Hinata’s shoulder as she leaned over the side of the bed and shone the small flashlight into his eyes, then moved it in several directions as she watched the movement of his eyes. 

“Okay, I think you did pretty good, hun. Now I’m going to check for any sensation of numbness or tingling, so I’m going to touch different spots on your face and body on both the left and right sides simultaneously, and I need you to tell me if there is anywhere you can’t feel my touch or feel a tingling sensation.”

The nurse worked from top to bottom, starting with Hinata’s temples and working her way down to his shoulders, his arms and hands, knees, ankles, and toes. At every touch, Hinata gave a nod that he could feel it, and his smile grew with each positive result. 

“Okay, hun. I think you’re in pretty good shape considering the hit you took. There are no further symptoms that I can see which would suggest any further need to examine you. There’s only one big thing left to test, which is balance. So I’m going to have you scoot over to the edge of the bed here, take my hand, and stand up very slowly.”

As Hinata placed the ice down on the bedside table, took the nurse’s hand and moved to begin getting out of the bed, Kageyama shot out of his chair before he knew what he was doing. Startled, Hinata looked up at him with his legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

“Uh…” Kageyama clambered for some explanation for his jumpiness, even to explain to himself. _Stop freaking out, everything is fine. This nurse knows what she’s doing._ He collected himself and began walking back towards the bed. “I should probably stand on your other side, Hinata. You might need the support if you get dizzy or something.”

The quizzical look returned to Hinata’s face, but he didn’t argue as Kageyama approached, sandwiching him between himself and the nurse who was standing next to the bedside table. Kageyama extended his hand, and Hinata took it as he scooted closer to the edge. 

Kageyama was immediately struck by how cold, clammy and small Hinata’s hand seemed to be in his own. He folded his other hand over it under the guise of offering the boy more support, and thought back to many of the times when Hinata had stated his ambitions to push past the limitations of his smaller body and become an amazing volleyball player. As he watched Hinata carefully move to place first one, then the other foot on the ground, Kageyama realized that this passion of Hinata’s was something he had come to appreciate fondly. Maybe that was why he was being so nosy and careful with the boy now. He had unknowingly developed a desire to help Hinata achieve his dreams as they had moved slowly from rivals to partners on the team, and battling this setback was unfortunately a part of that.

Kageyama was ripped away from his thoughts as he felt Hinata’s hand slipping out of his own, and looked up to see Hinata offering the nurse a thumbs up with one of his signature smiles. 

“I feel great!”

“Well, I’m glad, Hinata, but the balance test is still yet to come.” The nurse smiled widely, then turned to make eye contact with Kageyama. “Dear, if you could move out of the way, I’m going to have Hinata walk to the far wall and back.”

“Oh, of course!” Kageyama backed up and turned so that he was standing at the foot of the bed, then watched with his arms raised apprehensively as Hinata walked past him and reached the wall a few feet away. Kageyama sighed and let his arms drop, noting that Hinata was moving at a normal, if somewhat cautious pace and seemed to be very stable on his feet.

“I really think I’m okay, ma’am,” Hinata said as he turned around and walked back to the nurse.

“You seem to be, indeed, so here’s what we’ll do. I’m clearing you to leave today, but no games or practice for at least a week. You’re still welcome to go and cheer on your teammates, certainly, but _no participating._ Keep your distance. And if you develop any of the symptoms we discussed, or things like extreme fatigue, sleeping problems, trouble concentrating or unusual emotional changes, please see your physician right away. They may want to schedule an MRI or CAT scan.”

“Yes ma’am!” Hinata began to bow before the nurse held out her hand to stop him, then handed him a small slip of paper.

“That’s not necessary, hun. Take this to give to your coach the next time you see him, it’s a note detailing what I just told you about not participating for a while.”

“Thank you, ma’am!” Hinata lowered his head to bow again, but stopped himself as the nurse folded her arms and shot him a glare.

“Come on, idiot.” Kageyama took the chance to offer his own bow to the nurse, then collected Hinata’s shoes as the nurse handed them to him and placed a hand lightly on Hinata’s back, signaling him to move forward. “Guess you’re walking through this place in your socks, ‘cause I’m not wasting the time to put these on your feet for you.”

For the remainder of the boys’ trip back to the locker room, they moved slowly and cautiously, staying near the outside edges of the hallways to avoid the masses of people. Hinata was quiet, looking forward while he tried to ignore passers-by staring at the bruises on his face. Kageyama kept quiet as well, but not due to the stares of the others. He was deeply concentrating, hovering just a pace or two behind the other boy to remain in perfect position if Hinata suddenly fell or passed out. Another whack to the head when he was in this state now would spell for much more than a week out of practice, and that was something Hinata would never willingly agree to.

***

Kageyama looked out the window of the bus and tried to clear his head by counting the trees that lined the streets as they passed by. He usually liked to sit near the back of the bus and put on his headphones on the way back from a match, so he could tune out the few others who didn’t usually fall asleep and mentally go over his plays, reflecting on improvements that he could make. But today was different. 

By the time he and Hinata had made it back to the locker room, everyone else had already showered, changed and headed to the team bus. Only Tanaka and Nishinoya stood waiting for them in the hallway when they arrived, wide grins spreading across their faces at the sight of Hinata walking. They had followed them into the locker room and waited while the two changed, then walked them to the bus. Not only had there only been seats left in the front, but Kageyama had insisted that Hinata sit as close to the front as possible. He had sat down and gently pulled Hinata down next to him before Hinata had had the chance to even look for a spot on his own. Tanaka and Nishinoya had taken the seats directly across from them, and Coach Ukai had come over to speak with Hinata briefly before the bus had gotten moving. It was then that Kageyama had handed Ukai the nurse’s note, which upon reading Ukai had frowned but had muttered, “Of course, it’s to be expected. I’m just glad you’re alright Hinata,” before clapping the boy softly on the shoulder and taking his own seat. 

Now, Kageyama was already at tree number twenty-three and finally decided to abandon the pointless task, as the bus was picking up speed and the town around them was beginning to blur together. Instead, he turned to check on the boy beside him.

“Oi, Hinata!” The boy’s head was slumped to the side, almost touching Kageyama’s own shoulder, and his eyes were closed. His breaths were coming at the calm and even pace of a deep sleep. Kageyama shifted around in his seat so that he could more easily face Hinata, and gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder, unsure if shaking him would be too violent a movement. “Don’t go to sleep!” he hissed, pressing his face close.

“Kageyama!” Nishinoya barked from the aisle seat across from them, roused from his own nap by the shouting. “Leave the kid alone, he’s probably dead tired.”

“But he could have a concussion! The nurse told him to be wary of feeling tired all the time.”

“She cleared him to leave, didn’t she? I’m sure it’s just the exhaustion of the game, of the situation. Look around, man, half the team is asleep! _I_ was asleep!”

“Coach?” Kageyama raised his head to look at Ukai and Takeda in the row ahead of them.

“If Hinata didn’t exhibit any other symptoms besides the headache, then I have to believe Nishinoya has a point here and he’s probably just tired. Let him sleep until we get back to Karasuno. If he’s excessively tired tomorrow, his family will take care of him and take him to a doctor.” 

“Yes sir,” Kageyama lowered his head again and stared at Hinata for a moment, trying to convince himself that the boy’s even breaths meant a peaceful, normal sleep, wrought from the good kind of exhaustion that comes after a hard-won match. 

There was nothing more he could do for Hinata all by himself at the moment, so he sat back and gingerly pushed Hinata’s head onto his own shoulder. He zipped Hinata’s sweatshirt all the way up and took his own from where it had been sitting in his lap, then draped it over Hinata’s body. The boy’s shoulder had been cold to the touch, just as shockingly as his hand had been when Kageyama had helped him to stand in the nurse’s office. 

Kageyama spent the remainder of the bus ride staring out the window again, with Hinata asleep on his shoulder. He moved from counting trees to counting buildings, which didn’t seem to slip by quite as fast. He didn’t want to zone out today, because he didn’t want to end up reflecting back on the match. It would just make him angry, and he wouldn’t be able to reflect on how his experience could help him and the team develop as players. He would have to revisit it another day.

As the bus finally pulled up outside of Karasuno High, players began stirring from their naps and jabbing others awake. As everyone began collecting their things and moving off of the bus, those in the back heading out first and being followed by the middle group, Kageyama tapped lightly on Hinata’s unbruised cheek.

“Hey, we’re here!”

Ukai approached as the last of the other players exited the bus, squatting down in the aisle to inspect the situation as Kageyama lifted Hinata’s head up and tapped his cheek lightly again.

“He’s really fast asleep, huh?” the coach murmured, concern beginning to glint in his eyes.

“I don’t want to slap him or anything, but he’s, like, dead to the world.” 

“Let’s get him off this cramped bus so we have a little more space to think, hm?” 

Kageyama released Hinata’s head as Ukai slipped a hand behind the boy’s back and underneath his legs, then hoisted him into his arms. He couldn’t help from cursing at himself for letting the others talk him into shrugging off his gut instinct when Hinata first fell asleep, but he followed Ukai off the bus and into the crowd of Karasuno players who had noticed that something was wrong. 

“Shoyo’s still asleep?” Nishinoya ran over as Ukai walked a few paces from the bus, then shot an apologetic glance towards Kageyama. 

“Move back, everyone, I’m going to set him down on that bench over there.” The sea of players parted as Ukai moved, Kageyama following close behind him as the other players converged again in his wake. 

“Let me sit down, Coach, and put his head in my lap.” 

As Kageyama sat on the bench with Hinata sleeping soundly on his lap, Ukai and Takeda conversed in hushed tones a few feet away. As the others milled about mostly silently, no one daring to head home yet, Kageyama could pick up bits of the adults’ conversation.

“The school is closed, so the nurse here won’t be available.”

“Is this serious enough to call an ambulance? He seemed fine enough when he got on the bus.” 

“We have to do something here, Takeda. We’re the responsible ones in this situation--”

Suddenly, a car alarm sounded somewhere in the neighborhood surrounding the high school, sending a screeching vibration into the air and causing several of the on-edge boys to jump. Kageyama himself freaked out a bit, his legs jolting upwards and setting Hinata’s body into motion. He reflexively shot his arms forward to prevent Hinata from rolling off his lap onto the ground. As he released his grip to make sure that his movement hadn’t somehow added to the damage Hinata had sustained today, he was met with wide brown eyes staring up at him.

“He’s awake!” Kageyama shouted at the others without breaking eye contact with Hinata. “Dude, you scared the shit out of all of us.”

Hinata slowly sat up, Kageyama’s hand pressing supportively on his back as if it was glued there.

“Well…” he spoke slowly, almost as if he were intentionally choosing every word before speaking. “Whatever that noise was just now scared the shit out of me. I think I was having a good dream.”

“Hinata, dumbass! I tried so hard to wake you up. Are you honestly okay?”

Hinata nodded as he swung his legs over the side of the bench and sat facing the others, who were all staring at him incredulously. 

“I guess I’m just a deep sleeper,” Hinata spoke quietly as his gaze caught on the two adults speaking quietly aside from the others, watching him. “I’m really okay, sensei, coach! I promise! I’m just tired, is all.”

He turned to look at Kageyama beside him, offering a wide smile. Kageyama simply shook his head and looked out at the trees surrounding them, resting his elbows on his knees with a large sigh. 

“Alright then,” Ukai finally approached the group of players and the managers. “You all should head home for now. We’ll see you at practice tomorrow. Hinata, you’re one hundred percent sure that you are fine?” At the boy’s enthusiastic nod, Ukai turned and shook his head at Takeda, who had a cell phone in his hand. 

“No ambulance, then?” Takeda asked.

“No, sir!” Hinata replied, almost yelling, before Ukai even opened his mouth. 

“Okay, like I said, see you all at practice tomorrow.” Ukai waved a hand for the players to start dispersing, rubbing his eyes with the other. 

Hinata stifled a large yawn, causing many of the others to eye him skeptically as they waved goodbye. Hinata seemed to brush off their suspicious looks as he got to his feet and waved back.

“You’re not fooling me, Hinata,” Kageyama said as he stood up. “I don’t trust you to make it all the way home by yourself, so I’m coming with you. Come on, I’ll carry you.”

“Kageyama! Stop being stupid, I’m fine!” Hinata placed his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest a bit, offering the biggest smile he could muster. 

“I’m not arguing with you, idiot. End of conversation.” 

“Let him help you, Hinata, for all of us. We want to make sure you’re safe.” Yamaguchi, one of the last of the others to leave, came over and placed a hand lightly on Hinata’s shoulder. 

Kageyama snickered quietly at the look of betrayal Hinata offered to Yamaguchi, then squatted down and offered Hinata his back. As Hinata began to take a step back, Yamaguchi pushed forward, offering Hinata no other option but to carefully scramble onto Kageyama’s back. 

“Make sure your arms are wrapped around my neck.” Hinata huffed annoyedly as Kageyama reprimanded him, then hoisted him farther up onto his back and started walking. “Thanks, Yamaguchi!” Kageyama called back to him. 

Within a matter of minutes, Hinata was dozing peacefully on Kageyama’s shoulder once again. _See, idiot!_ Kageyama thought, shaking his head. _Imagine how exhausted you’d be if you had to walk all the way home. You live farther away from Karasuno than most of us._

He picked up the pace as a cold wind started blowing against his face, thankful that he was blocking the brunt of it from getting to Hinata. Now that he was actually holding Hinata’s body, he could tell that the coldness he had felt in the boy’s hand and shoulder was indeed present throughout his body. He couldn’t believe that Hinata wasn’t shivering in the cool air.

_Gotta make it fast!_ Kageyama started moving into a light jog before thinking better of it, realizing that too much jostling around wouldn’t be good for Hinata if he did actually have a concussion. Regardless of what Hinata said about being fine, Kageyama would encourage any family waiting for him at home to really consider taking him to a doctor.

After a lot of walking over several steep roads and through just barely familiar neighborhoods, Kageyama was able to find the route he remembered running with Hinata one time, which would lead straight to his house. When he got to the door, he shifted his body around to support Hinata’s weight with one arm, then reached forward and rang the doorbell with the other.

A small girl with hair the same shade of fiery orange as Hinata opened the door a few moments later, her eyes widening at the sight of the two boys before her.

“Nii-chan?!” Concern warped her face quickly as she registered that something was wrong, that her older brother wasn’t his normal energetic self. 

“Hey, it’s okay!” Kageyama reached forward and rested his free hand on her shoulder. “I’m Kageyama Tobio, a friend of Shoyo’s. We play volleyball together. Are you his little sister?”

The little girl nodded as tears began to well in her eyes.

“What’s your name?”

“N-Natsu…” 

“Okay, Natsu. Is anyone else home? Like mommy or daddy?”

“M-mommy…”

“Can you get her for me, please?”

The tiny child nodded and clambered over the edge of the _genkan_ , stepping into slippers as she went, then turned and stopped in her tracks. “Is Nii-chan okay? Why does he have purple splotches on his face?”

“I’ll explain in more detail to your mom later, but he’s okay. He’s just sleeping. He was hit in the face with a ball. Please go get her.”

Kageyama stood awkwardly in the middle of the genkan as he watched the girl disappear down the hall, shifting frantically as Hinata began to fall off his shoulder. He looked down at the small shelf of slippers sitting in the corner of the genkan, then did his best to kick off his shoes before waiting for further instruction. 

“Hello?!” A woman’s voice rang out down the hallway as Natsu scrambled back into view, the owner of the voice being tugged along at the wrist behind her. At the sight of the boys, she stopped in her tracks. “Oh, my god, Shoyo!” 

“Don’t worry, ma’am, he’s just asleep right now. He was up and walking around earlier.”

The woman, Hinata’s mother, seemed to regain her composure at his words. She quickly wiped away a tear that slipped out of one eye, then approached the genkan and reached for a pair of slippers on the rack, placing them on the ledge in front of Kageyama.

“Please, please come in! Shoyo’s bedroom is this way.”

As soon as Kageyama had stepped into the slippers, he paused and bowed as low as he could manage with Hinata still on his back. “My name is Kageyama Tobio. I’m a member of the Karasuno team. It seems that no one has contacted you regarding what happened to Shoyo, so I am truly sorry.” Mrs. Hinata waved him up again as she continued walking, so he continued as he followed after her, Natsu trailing behind. “There was an accident during the match. A player from the other team hit the ball straight into Hinata’s face and he lost consciousness, but he was cleared to leave by the nurse at the sports complex. Shoyo has been sleeping on and off since then, so I’m concerned he may actually have a concussion.”

“Oh, dear,” Mrs. Hinata’s hands flew up to her face as she turned the corner in the hallway, but she settled herself again as she arrived at the door to Hinata’s bedroom. “In here.”

She let Kageyama slip past her and head directly to Hinata’s bed, where he sat down and cautiously leaned back to let Hinata’s head fall lightly onto his pillow. He stood again and approached the woman, who was frozen in the middle of the room, her eyes on her son’s face.

“If you’re worried, you can wake him up. Last time, a car alarm going off did the trick.”

“Oh,” she chuckled half-heartedly before kneeling down on the ground next to Hinata’s bed. She began to softly stroke his hair just above his more-heavily bruised side, letting breath out between her teeth as she tried to steady her nerves. 

“Mommy, is Nii-chan okay?” Natsu stood in the doorway, wringing her hands in the fabric of her sweater. 

“Yes, honey, he’ll be fine soon. He’s just very tired from a big day of volleyball. You know how hard he tries at it, right?”

“Yes!” Natsu let her hands fly up into the air as she ran into the room, past Kageyama, and jumped up onto the edge of the bed to get a glimpse at her brother. “He’s going to be the next Little Giant!”

Kageyama couldn’t help but laugh a bit as he looked at Natsu looking at her brother with a wide smile. She was so similar to him, so passionate and so ready to give her all in support of his dream. He walked closer to the bed and leaned over, placing his hands on his knees.

“You know, Natsu, your brother is my rival. He won’t be able to become the next Little Giant if he never gets any better at volleyball than me. You know what my nickname is? The King of the Court.”

It was a name that he had always detested. He couldn’t bear to hear other people call him by that name, but somehow he was bringing it up on his own right now. There was something about this little girl that made Kageyama want to impress her. Maybe it was because she was Hinata’s sister. But he could tell that her interest in her brother’s volleyball went beyond just sisterly adoration. 

“Nii-chan!” Natsu suddenly seemed enraged by Kageyama’s words, in an elementary schooler sort of way. She clambered on top of her brother’s stomach and began pounding playfully on his chest. “Wake up, Nii-chan! Kageyama-kun is trying to be better than you at volleyball!”

“Natsu, no!” The siblings’ mother reached out to pull Natsu off of him, but a groan escaped Hinata’s lips before she could. His eyes popped open and he lifted his head slowly to peer down at his younger sister. 

“Nii-chan!!!” She screamed and leapt forward, wrapping her arms around his neck. 

“Shoyo, honey, are you alright?”

“Mom? Where--” As Hinata scanned the room and started to process his surroundings, his gaze caught on Kageyama standing behind his mother. “Oh. I guess I fell asleep again.”

“Mhm,” Kageyama replied, his smile spreading wider. “Carried you all the way home. You’re welcome.”

“How are you feeling, honey? Are you dizzy? Tired? Hungry?” Hinata’s mother ran her hand over his head again before he gently pushed her, and Natsu, off and sat up slowly. 

“Actually, yeah. Really hungry. But not so tired, now!”

Hinata’s mother was already dragging Natsu out of the room before he had finished speaking.

“Natsu, can you help me make some dinner for us all? Kageyama, please stay for dinner. It’s my thanks to you.”

“Sure,” Kageyama called out to her in the hallway. He began to follow her out in the hopes of offering to help, but was shooed right back into the bedroom. He pulled Hinata’s desk chair away from the desk and sat down. “So, are you really feeling good now, or are you lying so your mom doesn’t worry?”

“No, no, I’m good! But I’m dying to know how the rest of the match went, in more detail than what you all told me before. I didn’t really get the chance to ask anyone before.”

Kageyama rolled his eyes, but then leaned forward and began to recount the events of the second set, doing his best to keep the anger from resurfacing again. So, he was still getting a chance to reflect on the experience today, in a meaningful way. _Thanks, I guess, idiot._

About half an hour later, after the boys’ conversation had shifted to how Hinata would keep himself busy the next week without practice, Hinata’s mother marched in carrying a small table with bowls balancing on top of it, while his sister carefully carried a steaming pot. 

“Hot pot!” Hinata shouted excitedly, moving to the floor in front of his bed as his mother set the table down in front of him. 

She helped her daughter to set the pot down in the center of the table with care, then invited Kageyama over as well. The four sat on the floor around the table and dug in excitedly, none more excited than the two boys who hadn’t had the chance to eat a snack after the game. There wasn’t much conversation beyond Mrs. Hinata’s repeated attempts to make Kageyama aware of just how thankful she was that he had taken the time and effort to deliver her son home safely. 

“I really should be going,” Kageyama said as the meal came to a close. He had texted his own family to let them know that he wouldn’t be making it home for dinner, but he knew Hinata was still exhausted despite how well he was playing his usual cheerful self, so he thought it best to return home as quickly as was polite to do. Before he left, Kageyama insisted on carrying the table back to its usual place in the house and helping with additional cleanup.

At Hinata’s first attempt to even stand up in the process of helping with cleanup, Kageyama and Hinata’s own mother simultaneously offered a stern “No!”, which sent Hinata’s mother into a fit of laughter.

“Thank you for looking after my son today, Kageyama,” she said as she wiped away some residual tears of laughter at the front door. “You went beyond what teammates expect of each other, I’m sure.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Please let Shoyo know I’m… er, the team is hoping to see him at school tomorrow. And we’ll be wishing for a speedy recovery if not.”

“I will, dear. Have a safe trip home.”

As Kageyama set off into the darkness of the night, he glanced towards the side of the house where he guessed Hinata’s bedroom window should be. Inside, Hinata was lying on his side in bed, his hands folded supportively underneath his head, talking with his younger sister who sat on the floor in front of him. Her arms were folded on the edge of the bed, her head resting atop them, and the two were laughing. It was enough to put Kageyama’s anxiety at ease, so he quickened his pace as the cold night air whipped at his clothes.


	4. Sugawara is Never Late to Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama arrives at school the following morning unsure if he'll see Hinata. Yachi is one of the first people he sees, and she's curious to see if he's heard from Hinata.

As Kageyama approached the door of his school classroom early the next morning, Yachi, the small blonde manager, ran up to meet him from further on down the hall. 

“Good morning! Any word from Hinata this morning about coming to school?”

Kageyama shook his head, then moved forward down the hall and poked it around the doorframe of Hinata’s classroom to scan the students’ faces. “Looks like he isn’t here yet, either.”

Yachi frowned and let her gaze fall to the floor, then shrugged and mumbled, “I guess we shouldn’t have expected him to be his energetic self after everything that happened yesterday, but not having him around will make sitting through classes a bit harder.”

Kageyama kept quiet as he scanned the room again, hoping that he had just missed Hinata conversing with some other students. But no, on second look he was definitely not there. Kageyama waved a quick goodbye to Yachi as the two headed off to their own respective classrooms. 

_Maybe I should text him… just to check in and ask if he’s going to the doctor._ Kageyama was lost in his thoughts as he made his way to his seat, ignoring the morning greetings of his friends in Class 1-3. _It’ll be good to let the team know, after all._

Kageyama pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed off a quick text to the boy: “ _Hey, since you’re not at school I’m assuming you’re getting your head checked out or something. Text me back what the doc says and I’ll tell the team.”_ After a moment of staring at the message he had sent, Kageyama added a short “ _Hope you feel better soon, the team needs you.”_

Before Kageyama had the chance to sit and watch the screen, waiting for the icon marking the messages as “Delivered” to change to “Read” and a reply from Hinata to come through, the school bell rang and his professor strolled casually into the room. He tossed the phone into the open pocket of his school bag, hanging off the side of his desk, and tried to push thoughts of volleyball and Hinata into the back of his mind. 

***

After a long day of class, Kageyama began making his way to the locker room where he would change to get ready for practice. He pulled his phone out and scrolled through the new notifications he had received since lunch, when he had last checked to see if Hinata had replied. Everything he saw now was related to posts on social media or something similar, nothing yet from Hinata.

_Maybe he’s just been sleeping it off all day,_ Kageyama thought as he crammed his phone back into his bag and trekked into the locker room. There was no one else inside, so Kageyama hurried through changing and raced to the gym.

The others were all already warming up by the time he walked inside, with the exception of Sugawara. It wasn’t like him to be late.

“Oi, everyone!” Kageyama shouted as he jogged onto the court and joined the others. “Where’s Suga?”

“He was already here, but he went to look for you and Hinata. You were taking such a long time!” Tanaka said through light panting after hitting a practice spike. 

“Hinata? He stayed home today.”

“Are you sure?” It was Sugawara’s voice this time. Kageyama turned around to see him standing in the door of the gym, sweat beading on his forehead. “I just went running around the first-year hallways looking for the both of you.”

“Sorry I’m late, I was distracted… but why were you looking for Hinata? Just ask Yachi, she didn’t see him today either!” 

Kageyama whipped his head around and scanned the gym, but Yachi wasn’t present.

“She and Shimizu-san are both talking with Takeda-sensei and Coach Ukai in the faculty office. I think they’re planning some practice matches with other schools for the next few weeks. They’ll be back soon and Coach’ll get practice started then.” Sawamura came up behind Kageyama and placed a ball in his hands as he spoke. “Sugawara was looking, well, you explain, Suga.”

“Right,” Sugawara joined the others on the court. “I was looking for Hinata too because I expected him to be here. I texted him this morning on my way to school, just, you know, saying I was thinking about him and wishing him well. He replied right away saying not to worry, that we’d see him at practice and that he’d be in class. He even sent me a picture of himself with his bike on the sidewalk outside his house. He had a black eye that was swollen like a grapefruit, but he threw up a peace sign like it was no big deal. So when he didn’t show up, I figured you would know where he was, seeing as you sometimes hang out between lessons nowadays. I didn’t expect you to be late as well. Or to show up without him.”

“But… but he never…” Kageyama looked down at the ball Sawamura had thrust into his hands, then let it drop to the ground and roll away from his feet. “I texted him right before classes started. I checked his classroom and he wasn’t there, and he never replied to my messages all day. I figured he was at home sleeping or at the doctor’s office!” 

The boys were typically not supposed to bring cell phones or homework into the gym with them, but Kageyama had grown increasingly impatient to hear back from Hinata as the day droned on, and had snuck his cell phone into the gym. He ran over to the wall near the door, where he had deposited his water bottle and towel, and dug the cell phone out from underneath the towel.

“Don’t tell Ukai, please!” He stared meaningfully at each player surrounding him, lingering for an extra moment on the captain. “We’re all probably just overreacting. I bet Hinata started that insane commute of his and decided he wasn’t feeling up to it, then turned around and headed home. But I’ll call him.”

As Kageyama began dialing Hinata’s cell phone number, the players around him broke out into side conversations. Sugawara kept his eyes trained on Kageyama as he spoke, however. 

“Why wouldn’t he text me again and tell me that he changed his mind, though?”

“I… I don’t know!” Kageyama was growing irritated with his senpai’s inquisitive tone as he placed the phone to his ear and waited for the dial tone to sound. He didn’t want to admit it, but this irritation was really just a facade for an increasing sense of anxiety. 

The dial tone sounded, the phone began to ring. And it rang. And it rang. And it rang. 

“Hey!” Kageyama felt a knot form and release in his chest rapidly as he heard Hinata’s voice on the other line. He was just starting to mumble, “Oh, thank god, idiot,” when Hinata’s voice continued. “This is Hinata Shoyo. Thanks for calling, but you missed me! You can leave me a message here and I’ll call you back as soon as I can!”

“Damnit!” Kageyama hung up the phone and dropped his arms to his sides, resisting the urge to crush his phone between his fingers. “It went to voicemail. Does anyone have his mother’s number by chance?”

“You’re the one who met her yesterday, shouldn’t _you_ have it?” Tsukishima asked from a few feet away, seemingly trying to resist the urge to pick at the strap of his sports glasses. 

_Damn, he’s right. I should’ve asked her if there was somewhere I could reach her to check on Hinata._

“No need to be so snarky, Tsukishima. This is a stressful situation and you need to be a good teammate here,” Coach Ukai’s voice projected from the open gym door. The players all looked up in surprise to see him, Takeda, and the managers all standing with mutually surprised expressions on their faces. The coach decided to quickly move on from the momentary awkwardness as he continued. “Takeda and I both have emergency contact information for all of you back in the faculty office. I can find Hinata’s mother’s number there.”

He made no comment on the fact that Kageyama had his cell phone and was using it in the middle of a warm-up, but instead quickly turned and went back the way he came. The boys all followed in his wake, the managers and Takeda bringing up the rear. 

“Yachi-san!” Yageyama slowed a few paces to match steps with the small blonde girl. “Did you see Hinata in the hallways at all today?”

She shook her head no. “I thought you said he stayed home today? What’s going on?”

“Suga texted him even earlier than I did, and he told Suga he was coming to school.”

“Oh…” Yachi let her eyes trail away from Kageyama’s and looked forward to the other first-year boys ahead of her. “Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, neither of you saw him either?”

“Nope, sorry Yachi-san.” Yamaguchi looked over his shoulder and offered an apologetic smile.

Tsukishima continued to look straight ahead, mumbling, “Well, he’s not here, is he?”

Kageyama gritted his teeth at Tsukishima’s tone and crossed his arms to keep from lunging at the other first year. He knew Tsukishima was being like this because he was just as worried as the rest of the team. This was how he handled tense situations, Kageyama and the others had come to learn well.

“Man!” Nishinoya yelled suddenly, causing Kageyama and Yachi beside him to jump. “I sure hope Shoyo’s mom answers and tells us all that we’re just overreacting. Especially you, Suga. You made us all freak! Hinata’s probably just zonked out in bed, doped up on pain meds, drooling everywhere with his feet sticking out from under the blanket.”

Sugawara kept silent as he stayed glued to Ukai’s heels, Daichi beside him gripping tightly to his shoulder in an attempt to help him relax. 

“Exactly, Nishinoya,” Ukai replied confidently as he reached the door of the faculty office and pulled it open. “Your description is rather vivid, but I’m guessing you’re not far off the mark. Now, please wait here everyone.”

Takeda slipped through the mass of t-shirts and gym shorts and followed Ukai into the office, then slid the door shut behind him. The two managers stood together with the team in the hallway, all doing their best to keep a neutral expression on their faces. Kageyama wasn’t having it, however, and he pushed through the other boys to get closer to the doorway. He crouched low to the ground and pressed his ear up against the door. Yachi and Nishinoya did their best to follow his example while making room for others to listen as well.

“Hello, Hinata-san?” Ukai’s voice rang out after a few moments of silence. “Shoyo’s mother? I’m Ukai Keishin, the coach of Karasuno’s volleyball team. I’m here with Takeda Ittetsu, the faculty advisor. First, I want to apologize for not reaching out to you yesterday to alert you of what happened to Shoyo. I’m sure it was a shock to see him like that with no warning… Well, thank you for your understanding ma’am… I’m actually calling now in regards to another matter. Is Shoyo at home with you today? We’re just calling to check in and see how he’s doing. He didn’t come to practice just now and none of the first year students on the team saw him in the first-year classrooms today…”

After a brief moment of silence on this end of the phone line, Kageyama heard Ukai begin to speak again, but in a more hushed tone. Most likely talking to Takeda. “She’s just put me on speaker so she can look through her voicemail and messages. She’s at work, not at home, and she says Hinata left for school as usual this morning before she left for her own job. He was totally fine, his usual self… 

“Oh, yes, Hinata-san, I was just informing Takeda of what you told me… Oh, I see… No, we didn’t double check with Shoyo’s professors or the principal before calling you, our mistake… Please keep us updated… Goodbye.”

A loud sigh and the _click_ of an office phone being placed back on the stand were the only sounds the followed until Takeda spoke up.

“What did she say?” 

“The school called her earlier, but she missed the call so they left a message. She hung up just now to listen to it. My guess is that Hinata’s homeroom teacher marked him as absent, like they should’ve, and then someone in school administration had the decency to check up on why that could be. Hinata was never one to ditch classes, so for him, something like this wouldn’t just fly under the radar.”

“So what are we thinking, he went home like the boys are thinking and his mother had already left for work? Then he didn’t bother calling her because he didn’t want her to worry about him? What should we tell the boys?”

“Just be honest. Let’s face it, they all are probably pressed up against the door right now, listening to everything.”

Kageyama jumped back, Asahi behind him just managing to keep him from falling to the ground and causing a ruckus. He turned and mouthed a silent thank you, but there was really no point if Ukai was already this astute. 

As footsteps began to move in the direction of the door, Kageyama followed the others to a cluster of benches a ways down the hall and did his best to act casual, sitting between Sugawara and Yamaguchi while he stared at the floor. The door opened and Ukai stuck his head into the hallway, clearly aware that they were faking having kept their distance.

“I know you all heard, so let’s just cut to the chase,” Ukai stated as he and Takeda approached the group. “Takeda and I need to stay here to talk to some people at the school and get the story straight about what they know about Hinata, as well as wait for his mother to call us back. As a result, practice is cancelled today. But that doesn’t mean you get the day off. If you’re willing, I’d like you to go out and look for Hinata. Some of you know the route he takes to get to Karasuno, so start with that,” Ukai glanced in Kageyama’s direction. “He may very well be at his house, but don’t overlook anything on your way there. And keep calling him. Is anyone willing to do that?”

“Yes, sir!” Kageyama was the first to shoot out of his seat and stand at attention. Others around him followed suit, until all were standing and ready. Even the girls volunteered. 

“I won’t make you search in your gym clothes, though,” Coach Ukai tried to sound humorous. “Go put on something warm. Keep me updated, but I’ll see you all at practice tomorrow.” With that, he turned and headed back to the faculty office while Takeda raced off to another part of campus, searching for other faculty members who had attempted to call Hinata’s mother earlier. 

“Let’s hurry!” Kageyama and Sugawara said simultaneously, and everyone began racing back to the locker rooms and squirming into their uniforms and coats. Within minutes, they were out the front gates of the school and streaming into the streets around it. 

Daichi, who had remained relatively quiet during the whole experience, finally seemed to snap to attention and take on some of the traits that had earned him the title of captain. “Azumane, Tanaka, check the northern streets! Suga, go south with Tsukishima and Ennoshita! Nishinoya, Shimizu and Kinoshita, east! Yachi, Narita, and Yamaguchi, west! Kageyama, let’s start on this route Hinata takes to and from school. Show me!” As the teams began to set out, Daichi turned and began jogging backwards. “As soon as you think your area seems unlikely, try to catch up to us on Hinata’s route! Text us and we’ll let you know where we are!”

Kageyama was already ten feet ahead of the captain, running as fast as he dared to go while keeping in mind the stamina he would need to efficiently and quickly check the entirety of the insane commute that Hinata did by bike every day. As Daichi began catching up to him, he pulled out his phone and prepared to redial Hinata’s number.

_Shit! My phone is only at twenty-three percent! It won’t last that long!_ He felt his speed slow down as he went through and began clearing open apps. He began cursing himself for how long he had kept the phone on during lunch, simply staring at it as he had nothing better to do.

“Sawamura, do you have Hinata’s number too?” 

“Mhm!” 

“Good, my phone might not last very long! Okay… here we go!” 

The phone rang and rang, and the sound of Hinata’s voice as his voicemail greeting played irritated Kageyama more than hearing the boy’s voice in person ever had. 

“Pick up the damn phone, dumbass!” Kageyama shouted at his phone as the beep signaled he could record his message. He hung up, then immediately dialed again as he led Daichi down a winding street. 

After several minutes and six more unanswered calls, Kageyama checked his battery. It had tanked rapidly, teetering on the edge of the danger zone at ten percent. 

“No luck?” Daichi breathed beside him, receiving an anguished head shake from Kageyama. “Ukai just texted the team, Hinata’s mom called him back! The school did call her about Hinata being absent and she’s on her way home right now. But her commute is even longer than Hinata’s, by car! She won’t be home for a while!”

“Shit, dumbass,” Kageyama mumbled under his breath. “I’m seriously going to murder you if you’re asleep in your bed at home right now.”

“I would kiss him if that were the case!” Nishinoya called from behind him, slowing the running pace that he had kept up to join them. Behind him followed Shimizu and Kinoshita, both panting hard. Not far after them, other players were beginning to round corners and come into view. No one was having any luck, and they all looked exhausted.

Kageyama glanced back down at his phone, ignoring the text from Ukai as Daichi had already shared its contents, to examine the battery life. It had decreased another two percent, so he redialed frantically. 

“Damn Hinata, pick it up!” Kageyama yelled as he listened to the dial tone sound again. Between that cursed sound and the heaving of his own breath as the group climbed up a gigantic hill, Kageyama was about ready to throw the phone and lay down on the ground in defeat. But his captain wouldn’t let him.

“Do you hear that?” Daichi stopped in his tracks beside Kageyama, almost causing Nishinoya to slam into him. “Shh! Everyone, listen!”

Kageyama took the phone away from his ear, but kept it close enough to hear it ring. He swept the horizon with his eyes as he tried to tune into his ears. Yes, there it was! A strange, unnatural noise that was too distant to discern.

“What does that have to do with finding Shoyo?” Nishinoya groaned.

“Anything could help us right now. Let’s keep going, I think it’s up ahead!” Kageyama ushered the others forward as he picked up the pace, fighting against the ache in his legs. The stamina needed for volleyball was much different to that of a long-distance runner, especially for setters like Kageyama who didn’t move around quite as much as the others. 

But as the group began to move again, the sound that had been so faint was now completely gone. They stopped again, straining their ears, but nothing. 

“Oh, shoot!” Kageyama had completely forgotten about the cell phone in his hand, which was now recording their movement as a voicemail message. With the phone now at three percent, he dialed again. 

And the strange noise appeared again.

“That’s gotta be Hinata’s cell phone ringing!” Kageyama shouted at the others as he pointed to his phone, then out into the distance ahead of them. A new sense of dread welled up in his throat, much worse than any anxiety he had felt leading up to that moment. “It stopped when the phone stopped ringing on my end.” 

As the group crested the top of the hill and spread out across the narrow sidewalk, they were met with nothing to confirm Kageyama’s hypothesis. The road was narrow, traffic flowing only occasionally. Hinata’s cheery voice popped up on Kageyama’s phone again, and he hung up and redialed instantly, not even bothering to check that his phone was now at one percent. He pressed forward, leaving the group behind and preparing to race down the other side of the hill in pursuit of the sound, when its source suddenly dawned on him. The sound was coming from off to the left of the road, and as Kageyama raised his eyes towards the pavement’s edge, his legs stopped and almost gave way underneath him. 

“No,” Kageyama dropped the phone, not even noticing as it skipped like a rock on water and landed in the middle of the road. His legs did finally give way, and he sunk down in the middle of the sidewalk. “No, no, no!”

“What is it, Kageyama?” Daichi caught up to him and knelt down beside him, then noticed his wide eyes and followed his gaze, the rest of the team arriving seconds after him and following suit.

Just a few feet above the pavement’s end stood a sturdy metal guard rail that had run along the sides of the road as it traversed up and down the hill, but here at the top, a large section of the railing was missing. Pieces of metal were curved and twisted, indicating that a strong force had bent them bizarrely--something much stronger than just a kid on a bike. 

As Kageyama’s cell phone finally died, the shrill cry that the students of Karasuno had been chasing cut off abruptly, silence alone radiating up from beyond the broken railing. 


	5. Beyond the Railing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama and the team have followed a trail of breadcrumbs that leads them to here... but Kageyama seems almost unable to bear whatever waits for him on the other side of the hole in the railing.

“Try to stay calm, Kageyama, everyone,” Daichi slowly stood and offered a hand up to the first-year before him. As soon as Kageyama was standing again, however, he raced across the road and left the captain behind.

“Hinata!” Kageyama screamed as he came to a halt at the massive hole in the railing and got down on his hands and knees to peer over the edge. 

The hill didn’t have a sharp drop off, but the way down was still very steep. It was definitely something that would warrant having such a thick guardrail up at the top. The side of the hill was scattered with clumps of dead leaves, small trees with snapped branches and trunks, and even muddy ruts where it looked like tire tracks had sunk into the earth. The tracks trailed down into dense woods, through which light filtered only enough to make out the shapes of bent and broken trees from this far away. 

“Wait, Kageyama, what are you doing?!” Daichi called as he reached the edge of the pavement, watching in shock as the boy began to clamber down the steep hill, tripping occasionally as he went but managing not to fall. Kageyama wasn’t stopping though, so he and the other boys began to descend as well. “Be careful, everyone! Take your time!” Daichi called back to the others, all the while watching Kageyama speed up. Eventually, Kageyama was properly running down the steep hill, having thrown all caution to the wind.

“There’s a car, a big one!” Kageyama screamed between heaving breaths while he jumped over logs, thickets, and scattered branches. “It’s smashed up against a tree! The whole windshield is shattered and the hood is crumpled!”

Kageyama stopped and caught his breath as he reached the area near the bottom of the hill where the car had come to a stop. He crept up to the window of the driver’s side and inspected the inside of the car as Asahi and Tanaka approached behind him, others around them spreading out to inspect other sides of the car.

“The driver is still in here. He’s unconscious and his head is bleeding. Call an ambulance!” Asahi nodded and pulled out his cell phone as Kageyama brushed past him, heading towards the front of the car, and called out again, “Hinata!”

Kageyama had a pretty good idea what was waiting for him after his next few steps, but the disbelief flooded his system anyway the moment he stepped around the car’s crumpled hood. The familiar red bike that Kageyama had always seen Hinata racing towards Karasuno’s campus with was smashed between the front of the car and a tree, paint scraped off in large swatches and the back end of the bike twisted up towards the sky, completely destroyed. 

_ But where are you, Hinata?! _

As Kageyama stepped forward frantically to inspect the bike more closely, a loud  _ crack! _ under his foot caused him to jump back. As he lifted his foot away, a small screen lit up in the dead leaves and spider-webbed cracks began to splinter across it. The notifications on the screen were still readable: “ _ Missed call: Kageyama Tobio (10+)” and “Text Message: Kageyama Tobio (2).”  _ And only a few feet away, lying on the ground below the bike and blocked from Kageyama’s view earlier by the hood of the car, was Hinata’s body. He was lying on his side, facing the front tire of the car, cradling his stomach with one arm. His other arm stretched out before him, reaching towards the phone in the dirt and smeared with blood. 

Kageyama left the phone where it was on the ground and raced over to the injured boy, doing his best to shove his way into the small space the bike allowed between the car and the broken tree. He knelt down and placed a hand on Hinata’s cheek, bringing his own face as close as he could to inspect him. Hinata was hardly breathing at all, his eyes closed and his face ghostly pale. 

“Oi, dumbass, wake up!” Kageyama slapped the boy lightly, flashbacks of yesterday’s events running through his head. But this was much worse. With no response from Hinata, Kageyama pulled back and looked down at his body. He grabbed Hinata’s bloodied arm and started scanning frantically. “Where are you bleeding from?”

Again spotting the area on Hinata’s stomach where his other arm rested, Kageyama did his best to move the front half of the bike out of the way and get closer to the boy’s body. But as soon as Kageyama had made the slightest adjustment to the bike, a long and ragged groan escaped from Hinata’s lips and his outstretched arm joined the one clutching at his stomach.

“Move, idiot!” Kageyama yelled at the semi-conscious boy as he stretched forward to pull his arms away from his side. Kageyama couldn’t get any closer to Hinata in the small space, so he fought to let his arms reach. 

As Hinata’s stomach became visible, Kageyama felt his mouth drop open. The front handlebars of the bike were lodged into Hinata’s lower-left torso on one side, their other side embedded in the grill of the car. Hinata was permanently attached to the car unless professional help could arrive soon, and was losing blood quickly.

“Azumane! Are you still on the phone?” Kageyama yelled without taking his eyes off of Hinata’s stomach. 

“Yes!” Asahi yelled back from where he stood at the driver’s side window, watching over the man in the car. Others who had been searching around the wreckage lifted their heads as well.

“Ask for another ambulance!”

At the sound of Kageyama’s request, the whole team raced over to where Kageyama was squeezed between the front of the car and the tree. Once everyone arrived and began crowding around the front of the car, Kageyama found that his voice wouldn’t work. He was powerless in this situation, and what he had felt like at the sight of Hinata’s face yesterday was nothing in comparison. The others were talking, but Kageyama couldn’t hear them. He just stared at Hinata’s face. Sweat was beading on his forehead like it did during a good match, but now for a completely different reason. Now he was fighting to stay alive. 

Kageyama reached forward once more to wipe the sweat away, shaken by the sight of it, but was pulled back before he could. He turned to see Tsukishima behind his shoulder, dragging him away from the car.

“Wh--” Kageyama’s voice came out shakily. “What are you doing?”

“Look at the tree, idiot!” Tsukishima let go of Kageyama’s coat with a sharp push. “It’s already snapped, and it’s buckling under the weight of the car! You’d get crushed if we left you there!”

It was true. With the downhill incline, the full weight of the car had been resting on the tree since the accident had occurred early that morning. 

“But Hinata--” Kageyama began to protest, but his voice was drowned out as a loud crunching sound signaled the final break in the tree’s resistance. It split in two at the point where the car had slammed the bike into it, and the car moved the remaining tree stump back so that it was tilting backwards out of the ground before coming to a stop again. If Kageyama had stayed where he was, his head would have been smashed against the tree stump. 

At the sound of a loud scream, Kageyama froze completely and stared at the space where he had last seen Hinata, now again blocked from view by the car’s front tire. Everyone was glued to the spot where they stood, too afraid to move. Finally, Tsukishima spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

“There was nothing we could do to save him without basically killing him ourselves. I didn’t want to lose both of you.”

“That’s bullshit!” Kageyama screamed back at him, despite knowing Tsukishima was right. He shifted forward onto his hands and knees and clambered to his feet. He moved again before Tsukishima could reach for him, racing over to the car and pulling himself underneath it on his stomach. 

“Kageyama, please, this is dangerous!” Daichi called from near the side of the car. “The paramedics will probably be here soon, and they can find him!”

“He needs us now! We’re his teammates, we can’t leave him alone in a situation like this!” Kageyama uttered the retort and then shut his mouth, focusing on edging closer and closer to the front of the car, to the spot where he had last seen Hinata. It was dimly lit underneath the car, but a stream of light illuminated the bent front wheel of Hinata’s bike ahead of him. Kageyama pushed forward with all the strength he could muster, until finally he was there. 

The front tire of the car had barely missed running over Hinata’s head, but now he looked even more ghastly than before. As Kageyama reached his body, he peered over Hinata’s side and felt tears begin to well in his eyes as he saw that the bike handlebar had pushed through his torso and was now protruding from the other side, like Hinata was a marshmallow skewered on a stick. 

Kageyama could now get a better look at the lower half of Hinata’s body, too, and noticed another injury that had probably occurred during the initial crash. Hinata’s left leg was bleeding almost as badly as his stomach, with a large piece of glass from the car’s windshield lodged into his calf. Smaller pieces of glass freckled the ground beneath him and had dotted his legs and arms with small cuts. 

“Hinata, can you hear me?” Kageyama turned to focus on the boy’s face, bringing his own close once more. Hinata was barely breathing at this point, and Kageyama’s tears overwhelmed him as he lay his head down on the ground in defeat. As he locked eyes with Hinata’s closed ones, his tears blocked his vision and he found himself reaching forward to grasp at Hinata’s body and make sure he was really there. He found Hinata’s hands, then folded them within his own, and let sobs begin to wrack his body.

He knew the rest of the team could hear him. He didn’t care. This idiot wasn’t just his friend. He wasn’t just a teammate. He was a rival who had become a partner. He had made Kageyama the best version of himself. He was  _ entirely  _ responsible for that. And he had much more to teach Kageyama. 

“Tobio-kun...”

A soft voice behind him caused Kageyama to freeze up, sputtering in his attempt to stop his tears. He opened his eyes and tried to see through the waterworks, turning to look back at the underside of the car. Sugawara was flopped on his belly halfway underneath the car, a hand outstretched to him. 

“The paramedics are here and they have some equipment to cut the handlebar. They’ll have to leave it in Hinata’s stomach to keep him from bleeding too much on the way to the hospital, but they can get it out of the grill of the car. They can save him. But you need to make room for them down here, which means you need to leave Hinata alone for a minute. Is that okay?”

Kageyama nodded, unable to speak, and quickly squeezed Hinata’s hands before reaching out to take Sugawara’s. He let himself be pulled along, all his energy gone. Before long, he was out in the late-afternoon light again and members of the team were pulling him up and herding him into a group with the others. No one said a word about the tears still streaming down his face, and Kageyama was too dazed to notice, but he wasn’t the only one crying. 

The driver of the car had already been evacuated and placed onto a stretcher, and Kageyama watched as a set of four people carried the stretcher up the steep hill to an ambulance waiting at the top. Two men came down with a similar stretcher and some bags full of equipment, but their other two co-workers were already taking Kageyama’s place under the car. The smaller woman crawled under and reached back, being careful to receive a large saw that the other handed to her. The second crawled under the car as well, and only a few short moments later a loud  _ bzz! _ emanated out from underneath the car. 

Soon enough, the two women clambered out from underneath the car, then turned around and slowly pulled Hinata out behind them on his side. The two men had prepared the stretcher on the ground near the side of the car, and the four together hoisted Hinata onto it, laying him on his side to avoid jostling the metal bar lodged in his body. Blood dripped and pooled in the dry leaves around him, a pathway of it practically trailing out from underneath the car. A medic quickly slipped an oxygen mask over Hinata’s nose and mouth, connected to a tank strapped to his back. Kageyama watched all of this proceeding in silence, trembling starting in his fingers and then trailing down his body. 

“Kageyama,” Daichi approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder to tenderly shake him out of his trance. “They said two of us can go with him in the ambulance. Why don’t you go? I’ll come too, if you’d like.”

Kageyama nodded again, still unable to find his voice. He let Daichi take him by the shoulder and lead him back up the hill after the paramedics, who moved slowly but with urgence as they carried Hinata. 

The other team members followed behind them, Yamaguchi and Yachi both stopping to retrieve Hinata’s book bag, flung several feet away from the disaster, and his shattered phone from the ground. There was a new missed call from Hinata’s mother.

“She’s probably made it home by now,” Yachi said to Yamaguchi as the others walked ahead.

“Yeah,” he nodded back, then raised his voice to address the others. “Let’s head back to Karasuno and tell Coach Ukai. If the paramedics don’t contact Hinata’s mom right away, he will for sure.”

The others nodded as they continued walking up the hill, Tsukishima already dialing Ukai’s number as he went. At the top of the hill, as a few others left brief remarks for the police who arrived at the scene, Sugawara and Nishinoya both stopped Kageyama and hugged him.

“I know this is a little awkward, but we all really need a hug right now, I think,” Nishinoya said before following the rest of the team back down the hill towards Karasuno.

“He’s right,” Shimizu said as she followed, also giving Kageyama a hug and inspiring Yachi to do the same. Kageyama couldn’t stop himself from blushing, even though his head was heavy with anxiety. 

He turned away from the girls as the paramedics loaded Hinata’s stretcher into the ambulance and the smaller woman who had been the first to crawl under the car offered him a hand up. The team turned and offered a group of collective waves as Daichi followed him in and the two sat on the narrow bench next to Hinata’s stretcher. One of the men joined the woman in the back with them, while the other two medics went to the front and began preparing for the drive to the hospital. The ambulance carrying the driver had already left, so Kageyama’s anxiety heightened with every moment that they spent unmoving. Finally, the medic closest to the door slammed it shut, and then the vehicle lurched into motion. 

“Can I…” Kageyama’s voice came out more shaky than ever before, but he pushed through it as he locked eyes with the woman who was transferring Hinata’s oxygen supply to a more permanent one inside the ambulance. “Can I touch him?”

“Of course, sweetheart,” the paramedic replied with a perfectly practiced reassuring smile. “If you hold his hand, he’ll know you’re here rooting for him.”

Daichi hadn’t let go of Kageyama’s shoulder since he had asked him to ride with Hinata in the ambulance, and now he was softly rubbing up and down Kageyama’s back to help him calm down, saying nothing and staring at the floor. Kageyama couldn't tell if it was helping or not, and he tried to set aside the embarrassment of being so vulnerable with his team captain so that he could be there for Hinata in the same way. He reached out and gingerly grasped Hinata’s hands, lying open on the stretcher near his face. Both Hinata’s hands were still caked in blood, and now Kageyama’s were too. There was blood all over Hinata’s school blazer and the white sweatshirt he wore underneath it, not to mention the massive holes both had on both the front and back from the impact of the bike handlebar. Hinata’s pants, too, were bloodied and shredded from shards of glass. 

As Kageyama stared, the medics went to work with heavy-duty scissors, cutting through Hinata’s clothes and exposing his wounds. He found that he couldn’t look, and instead turned to Hinata’s face while the medics cleaned around the pieces protruding from his torso and leg. Blood flecked Hinata’s face, creating a stark contrast between the dark red liquid and the paleness of a person on the brink of death. His skin was clammy and his hands were freezing cold, so Kageyama leaned in and brought the boy’s hands up to his own face. 

_ How are you still alive right now, after lying there all alone all day?  _ Kageyama thought as the ambulance’s siren wailed and Hinata breathed raggedly under the oxygen mask.  _ How did you manage to hold on when you were bleeding so badly, and why did no one find you sooner?  _ He couldn’t imagine how people who passed along that road throughout the day couldn’t take the time to notice the broken guardrail and check to see if anything had happened. Because the people of this world were so selfish, a boy who was so selfless, so energetic and inspiring to those around him, was fighting to keep his light alive. Because no one cared to notice, Kageyama might lose the single person he could call a best friend, even if he would never admit it to the idiot. He felt his face contort in anger, his grasp tighten around Hinata’s slippery fingertips. 

“Just take me back to yesterday,” he whispered into Hinata’s hands. “I would take that over this in a heartbeat… Just keep fighting, please.”

As the ambulance finally pulled into the nearest hospital’s emergency wing, Kageyama straightened up and carefully placed Hinata’s hands back on the stretcher. The two medics had done what they could to stop Hinata’s bleeding, but there was not much else to be done until the metal and glass could be removed, which would have to be later. Kageyama and Daichi waited patiently as the other medics opened the doors and helped the two who had begun to treat Hinata lower him to the ground. Kageyama followed the captain out of the ambulance and into the hospital, where a nurse led them to a small room in the ICU with a window overlooking some nearby houses and a small pond. 

“We will begin surgery as soon as we receive permission from his legal guardian,” the nurse explained as the paramedics moved Hinata onto the bed in the hospital room and other nurses began hooking him up to various equipment. “But for now, we’ll have to keep him here on standby while we wait. Now, can you give me your friend’s full name and any other information that will be helpful in tracking down his family, preferably a method of contact?”

“His name is Hinata Shoyo,” Daichi said as he pushed Kageyama towards a small chair near the window and forced him to sit down. “I got this, Kageyama, just chill for a second… Uh, so yes, he’s a first-year at Karasuno High and here’s his address. I don’t have any contact info for his family, but the school will.” Daichi showed his phone to the nurse.

“Thank you, that was most helpful!” The nurse nodded her head slightly, then stepped over to the bed and began helping others with various tasks, from setting up a heart monitor and an IV drip to taking Hinata’s blood pressure. 

“Sawamura!” Kageyama bellowed as soon as the nurses and doctors had left the room. Not only was his own phone dead, but one of the other boys had picked it up off the road after he had abandoned it, so he didn’t have it on him. “Did anybody text you? Did Ukai get a hold of Hinata’s mom?”

“Sugawara just texted saying they’re talking now, but that means that she’ll be on the phone if the hospital tries to call!”

“Tell him to make Ukai hang up!”

Daichi moved over near the door and leaned against the wall as his fingers began flying across his phone keyboard. The anger that had been welling up inside Kageyama since the ambulance ride wasn’t quieting now, and he had to bite his tongue to keep from yelling at his captain to move faster, call instead of text, just do something to get faster results. He looked over at Hinata’s limp body, curled on his side in the bed that looked massive compared to his tiny frame, and the tears began to fall again. 

“Hinata’s life depends on the actions we take right now,” Kageyama whispered just loud enough for Daichi to hear. “I swear to God that if Coach Ukai is the reason Hinata doesn’t get the surgery he needs right now, I’m never walking onto the court again.” 

“That’s not fair, Kageyama!”

“Don’t get distracted! If I could do something, I would!”

Daichi stared at him for a moment longer, then lowered his eyes and began typing furiously again. Then he stuffed the phone into his pocket and returned his gaze to the frantic first-year in front of him.

“Sorry,” Kageyama said quietly as he noticed the captain watching him. “I’m getting a bit carried away with anger. I didn’t mean that. I just don’t know what to do.” He lowered his head so that it was hovering just a few inches above Hinata’s, watching as the injured boy struggled to inhale and release each breath. 

“Scoot over,” Daichi said as he came around the side of the bed and stood next to Kageyama. As Kageyama moved, he pulled another chair close to the bedside and sat down, then pulled Kageyama’s head away from the bed and up to his own chest, wrapping his arms around the boy’s back and dropping his head to rest softly on top of Kageyama’s. “I know you’re angry, and scared, and probably sad, too. So let it all out. Cry, scream if you need to. That’s what I’m here for. I know you both care about each other, you can’t fool me.”

Kageyama felt a small chuckle vibrate through Daichi’s chest, but then small droplets began to fall on top of his head. So he wrapped his arms around Daichi as well, and the two sobbed into each other.


	6. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've made it to the hospital, and now it's just a waiting game before anything can be done. Kageyama must face difficult conversations and unexpected feelings as he struggles to remain patient.

A soft knock at the door a few hours later roused Kageyama from the fretful sleep he had fallen into after he and Daichi had run out of energy to go on crying. He lifted his head up from the side of the bed and glanced at Daichi, whose eyes were just beginning to lose their sleep-induced glassiness as he lifted his head up from the back of his chair. Nurses had casually come in and out of the room after they had stopped crying, so Kageyama was surprised to see one knock before entering now. 

“Excuse me, boys,” the woman spoke softly as she popped her head into the room, noticing the tired circles around their eyes. “I apologize if I woke you, but there’s someone outside who would like to speak with you. The other person involved in the accident, actually.”

Kageyama snapped back to a rigid position in his chair as the nurse retreated and the man whom they had found unconscious in the car stepped cautiously into the room. He was wearing fresh street clothing, different from what he had been wearing at the scene of the accident, which meant he had already been discharged from the hospital and was probably on his way out. The only sign that he had even been involved in something was a strip of bandage wrapped across his forehead. The man met Kageyama’s eyes, but Kageyama turned to look at Hinata. 

“Um…” the man spoke with trepidation, wringing his hands around a small bag that probably held his personal effects from the accident. “I was hoping to talk to the boy, but they’ve told me he hasn’t woken up yet…”

“Obviously,” Kageyama grunted back curtly, his eyes still focused on Hinata’s pale face beside him.

“Oh, right… Well, I’d like to speak to the two of you then, if I may.”

Kageyama kept silent and didn’t look at the man, but Daichi was quick to bow his head slightly and say, “by all means, sir, go ahead.”

The man nodded quickly before sinking into a low bow. His voice took on a new sense of confidence as he began to speak again. “This boy is very lucky to have the two of you as friends. I can’t imagine what experiences you have been through together to have forged such a bond, but--”

“Enough,” Kageyama spoke sharply, finally training his eyes on the man who stood bowing at the door. The man meant well, surely, but there was something about his choice to address Kageyama and Daichi, as if they were suitable substitutes for Hinata, that didn’t sit well with Kageyama. “I don’t care if you want to chat with the guy, Sawamura, but I sure as hell don’t. We’re not the ones he should be apologizing to.” Kageyama stood, placing his hands on the bed in front of him. “You don’t know anything about us. He and I, we’re not just  _ friends _ with Hinata. We’re his  _ teammates.  _ We’ve grown together in ways that are much more concrete and permanent, so we’re there for him no matter what. Which means we’re gonna take care of him and we’re gonna keep people like you accountable for your actions until Hinata himself can actually hear what you have to say. Got it?”

The man’s face paled as he stood straight again, but he nodded softly. “I understand. How presumptuous of me to assume that anything less than talking to the boy himself would be enough.”

“He’s not ‘ _ the boy.’  _ His name is Hinata. Hinata Shoyo.” Kageyama glowered at the man. 

“I’ll remember that,” the man spoke in almost a whisper before nodding back to Kageyama and Daichi and hurrying out of the room. As his steps trailed off down the hall, Kageyama heard him mutter a small, “oh, young man, please look where you’re going!”

Kageyama collapsed back into his chair as the weight of what he had just done washed over him and Daichi shot him a pointed look. He tried to shake it off, but he knew he was in the wrong. To disrespect an elder was a serious faux pas, and Kageyama had gone sort of overboard in his rage. He hadn’t even considered using the opportunity to find out what had really happened in the accident because he was blinded by it. Luckily, though, Kageyama didn’t have to stew in his instant-regret for too long, because another knock sounded at the door and the beaming face of Nishinoya popped into the room.

“Hey, guys!” Nishinoya said in the cheeriest tone he could muster. “I think the driver from the car just ran into me in the hallway! He’s looking better already.” As he walked into the room, the other members of Karasuno’s men’s volleyball team, along with the two managers, filed in after him. 

“That guy’s kind of a sore subject right now,” Daichi muttered, jerking his head in Kageyama’s direction. “Apparently we’re not open to taking apologies.”

“Was I wrong?” Kageyama glared at the team captain, attempting to mask the self-doubt he was already brewing in.

“Not wrong, per se, but maybe a little tactless in how you went about it is all…”

“What happened?” Sugawara asked, coming around the corner of the bed and standing next to Daichi, looking sadly at Hinata as he went.

“Let’s just forget about it,” Kageyama said. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, noticing that it was almost eight p.m. “What are all of you doing here, anyway? Where is Hinata’s mother?”

“We wanted to check on how Hinata was doing,” Asahi spoke up, coming to a standstill on the other side of the bed. He leaned over to try to get a glimpse of Hinata’s face, but Kageyama shook his head.

“He’s still asleep. They essentially haven’t done anything since we got here because they need a guardian’s permission.”

“Hinata’s sister is the problem,” Tsukishima muttered from his position leaning against the wall by the door. “His mom told Ukai that she needed to get his sister from school before she could come here. She couldn’t just leave her there after hours. And Ukai offered to help her out with that, but he had to stay and explain things to the school. So it ended up like this: Hinata’s mom went and got his sister while Ukai stayed at the school, we left and grabbed food at a konbini on the way here, and since then Ukai let us know over text that he had the kid and Hinata’s mom is on her way here.”

“It was all kind of slow moving on Hinata’s mom’s part because she didn’t exactly tell her daughter what was going on,” Yamaguchi added, shifting his weight around between his feet before handing Kageyama and Sawamura some small packages of food. Starving, the two dug into the food as modestly as they could manage while Yamaguchi continued. “Ukai said she had a lot of questions and kind of threw a temper tantrum when her mom handed her off to him.”

“But did she talk to the hospital yet? Did she give the okay for Hinata to have surgery?” Kageyama stood up again, locking eyes first with Yamaguchi, then with several of the other boys as they glanced at each other. 

“Nobody knows. Ukai didn’t say anything about that in any of his texts.”

“Damn,” Kageyama made a fist and punched the palm of his other hand as Sugawara retrieved the empty containers from the two.

“Excuse me, folks,” the same nurse who had ushered the driver into the room popped her head in again and spoke with a more pressing tone, causing Tsukishima to jump away from the door. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to leave. There’s just too many of you in here right now when our patient is in such critical condition. If you could please follow m--oh!” The nurse let out a small breath of surprise as she found herself being pushed gently into the room. 

“Shoyo!” a shaky voice cried out from the hallway, one that was instantly recognizable to Kageyama because he had heard it only the day before. “Where is my son?!”

“Ma’am, please calm down!” the nurse almost shouted as she turned to face the hallway. “Hinata Shoyo is in this room right here. You’re his mother? We have some questions for you which require immediate response.”

“I know, I know!” The voice got louder as the nurse was forced further into the room, and the panic-stricken face of Hinata’s mother finally emerged into view. “I got the message left on my cell, just let me see my son! I’ll tell you anything you want!”

As Hinata’s mother finally fully entered the room, she locked eyes with Kageyama and immediately burst into tears, stumbling as she attempted to approach the bed. The boys around the room tried to assist her, but she reached for Kageyama and the familiarity that they had established the night before. He scooted around Sawamura and Sugawara and raced to her side, taking her hand and guiding her with his other hand pressed to her back as he walked her back to his own seat. 

“Oh, my baby!” the grief-stricken woman wailed with a trembling voice, pressing her hands across her son’s cheeks before fidgeting with the locks of hair strewn across his forehead, beaded with sweat, and adjusting the oxygen mask across his mouth and nose. She kept her eyes trained on his face, resisting every temptation to look down at the objects lodged in his stomach and leg. 

The nurse began ushering the boys out of the room as she made her way closer to the side of the bed where Kageyama still stood with Hinata’s mother. As she got closer, Kageyama felt the woman’s hand tighten around his wrist, pulling him down next to her, into the seat where Daichi had fallen asleep earlier. 

“Hinata-san, I’m afraid that your son’s friend is going to have to leave for now. With your permission, of course, we’ll need to get your son prepped for surgery. You’ll have a few more minutes with him, but we ask that it is family-only.”

Hinata’s mother looked up from watching her son sleep and stared at Kageyama’s face for a long moment before offering any sort of response to the nurse’s request, garnering a stressed “we need to work quickly, ma’am” from the nurse.

“Kageyama, thank you for being there for my son, again. You and all of the others who were just in here are amazing young men and women. I sometimes worry for my son and the kind of social life he has at Karasuno, but you’ve shown me there’s no reason to.” She quickly squeezed his hand. “Now, let’s do what this young woman says. Have a good night, young man.”

Kageyama nodded back at the woman, impressed at how quickly she could throw together the appearance of composure, then glanced at Hinata one more time before standing and stepping past the nurse. As he walked out of the room, he found the rest of the team waiting for him. 

“Why are you all still here?” Kageyama hissed. “You’re crowding up the space in the hallway!”

“We didn’t want you to have to go home alone, Kageyama-kun,” Yachi exclaimed as she scooted through the crowd of boys and offered her best smile. “It’s lonely taking the train by yourself at night. Oh, and here’s your phone back.”

Kageyama felt himself blush at the small girl’s attempt to comfort him, but he shook his head as he retrieved the fully-charged cell phone from her outstretched hand. “Thanks, but I’m not leaving. I’ll be here for Hinata’s mom while he’s in surgery, and for him when he wakes up afterwards.”

“Come on, Kageyama!” Tanaka placed a firm hand on his shoulder. “It’s not like we don’t still have to go to school tomorrow. You’ll be like a zombie in classes if you stay here all night.”

“I’m not leaving,” Kageyama announced again, then brushed off Tanaka’s hand and dropped into the nearest waiting room chair as proof, folding his arms and planting his feet firmly to boot. 

“Then we’ll all stay,” offered Sugawara, glancing back at the captain as if waiting for confirmation.

“Ukai would probably be pissed if the whole team did,” Daichi murmured, one hand rubbing at his chin. “Lack of sleep can throw an athlete into a funk for days…”

“Just go home, everyone, please,” Kageyama pleaded. He waved his phone at them. “I promise I’ll text with any updates, and I’ll share everything I can in person tomorrow. If Hinata’s mom wasn’t waiting here all by herself, I promise I would be going home too.”

“Come on, everyone.” Daichi waved a hand to gather up the group, putting the discussion to rest, then nodded goodbye to Kageyama. “Just don’t flip out at anyone else the way you did with the driver, okay?”

Kageyama nodded as the rest of the team walked down the hall and turned the corner towards the exit. As the hospital hallway fell into silence, he returned his gaze to the floor below his feet, counting the squares in the tile to occupy himself. He was only a few paces away from the door of Hinata’s room, and as the nurse who had been speaking with his mother left, Kageyama could hear her sobs start up again. They were quiet and controlled, but still saturated with pain, fear, and anguish. Kageyama sighed, hoping that the nurses would have the decency to let him at least sit with the pained woman while Hinata was in the operating room. 

As the nurse walked by, nodding to him sternly as she passed, as if to say “thanks for listening to me earlier, but you should be at home by now,” Kageyama caught a shadow of movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up to see light shifting around in the doorway of Hinata’s room, so he stood up. The nurse stopped too, but then shook her head and proceeded on with the stack of papers she held in her arms. She was too busy to care now what Kageyama was doing, as long as he wasn’t causing trouble.

Kageyama waited until the nurse had fully moved on, then moved over to the doorway and poked his head around the frame. Hinata’s mother stood with one hand on Hinata’s shoulder, his body resting on its side as it had been before, and she had stopped crying. 

In between her chest heaving and her nose sniffling, she managed to stutter out, “Wh-who are you?”

Kageyama moved forward so that he stood in the doorway, then surveyed the rest of the room. To his left, the driver who had smashed Hinata against the tree again stood in a bow. In an instant, all guilt that had been lingering in the back of his mind because he had disrespected an elder disappeared. Kageyama raced into the room and balled a fist around the man’s shirt at the back of his neck, yanking him into a standing position and pressing his face menacingly close.

“You’re still here, Kageyama?” Hinata’s mother asked with a hint of surprise.

“Ma’am,” Kageyama spoke with agitation clearly straining his voice, but took a breath and tried to compose himself as he continued. “This guy is the one who hit Shoyo. He was here earlier with a guilty conscience, but I told him to wait until Shoyo was ready. I guess he couldn’t do that.”

Kageyama let go of the man’s shirt and stepped between him and the bed before continuing. “This isn’t the time dude. I know the nurse didn’t let you in this time, because they’re prepping him for surgery. Leave, now. If you’re so desperate to clear yourself of guilt that you can’t even wait until it’s convenient for other people, then learn what it means to be considerate.”

“Don’t you want to know what happened, ma’am?” The man looked over Kageyama’s shoulder and locked eyes with Hinata’s mother. “I’d like to wrap this up, put it all behind me, and move on with my busy life as soon as possible, as I’m sure you would.”

“Get out,” the woman declared strongly, not a whimper escaping from her lips anymore. 

“Fine, fine,” the driver replied, shoving a piece of paper into Kageyama’s hand. “Give me a call when the boy wakes up, so we can settle things  _ civilly. _ Oh, it’s  _ Shoyo _ , right?”

“You goddamn…” Kageyama balled the paper up as he made a fist, his mind racing as he tried to keep himself from punching the guy. But the anger was too much, and now Hinata’s mother was involved in more stress than she needed to be. He couldn’t just stand by and let that fly.

“Kageyama, drop that arm right now!”

Kageyama almost fell backwards in shock as the voice roared from the open doorway.

“Coach Ukai?” He gasped as he braced himself against the side of Hinata’s bed. 

The coach stepped into the room, the now-too-familiar nurse standing in his shadow in the doorframe. She leaned down and out of view behind Ukai and began whispering. That was when Kageyama noticed the two small feet dancing around behind Ukai’s legs.  _ Natsu? _

“Ukai-san!” Hinata’s mother shouted, then instantly swept herself into a light bow. “I’m so sorry for shouldering you with the responsibility of looking after my child so late into the night. Thank you for coming.”

_ So, she asked him to bring Natsu here because she felt guilty?  _ Kageyama thought as he looked back and forth between Hinata’s mother, Ukai, and the driver who was now silently backing away from Kageyama. 

“Mama!” It was indeed Natsu, and she came barrelling around Ukai’s legs as she searched the room for her mother. “Where is mommy? Where is Nii-chan?”

Ukai scrambled to scoop her up into his arms as the nurse attempted to run after her. She thanked him wordlessly before going over to the driver and taking his arm, talking to him quietly as she led him out of the room. The paper he had handed to Kageyama found its place on the floor. 

“They’re both right here,” Ukai said to the small girl as he walked further into the room. Before he could make it to the bed, however, Natsu spotted Kageyama.

“Kageyama-kun is here too! Hi Kageyama-kun!” Natsu squealed with glee and reached her arms out towards Kageyama.

“Good, take her, I’m not great with kids,” Ukai said as he hastily pushed the girl into Kageyama’s arms. He then gazed silently at Hinata for a long moment, likely overcome with shock at the sight of the boy’s condition, before seeming to come back to his senses. He turned back to Hinata’s mother. “It was no problem at all. I’m happy I could help in any small way. The nurse told me on my way in that they’re preparing Shoyo for surgery, so I’ll be going now. Please let him know I wish him well and expect to see him at school again soon!” With that, he bowed his head slightly and rushed out of the room, shooting Kageyama a pointed look as he went. 

Kageyama felt his head begin to spin at the rapid succession of events that had just happened, building on top of the ever-present anxiety that time was being wasted. “I should go, too,” he stated as he turned to face Hinata and his mother. He did his best to shield Natsu’s eyes, but she was squirming and calling out to her mother.

“It’s okay, Kageyama. I told Ukai to explain everything that’s going on to her, in a toned-down way, so she knows that her brother isn’t doing very well,” Hinata’s mother explained as she ran her hand across her eyes. She held out her arms, and Kageyama came around the bed and transferred the wriggling girl to her.

“Natsu, sweetie,” she spoke quietly while she brushed one hand over Natsu’s hair. “Your brother’s going to be taken care of really soon by all the nice people in this hospital, but right now he’s sleeping. See this mask? It’s helping your brother do his best to take big, strong breaths.”

“What about that thingy in his arm, mommy?”

“That’s an IV. It’s helping him to be comfortable and stay hydrated, so he can be happy when he wakes up.”

“Yay! Nii-chan should always be happy! But mommy, what about that thingy?” 

As Natsu pointed, Kageyama shuddered to see that she was pointing at the bike handlebar sticking out of his stomach, the bandages on his skin around it beginning to peel away and saturate with blood. Kageyama leapt forward and stood between the bed and Hinata’s mother, blocking Natsu’s view. Hinata’s mother had been avoiding looking at it, but now she had had no choice but to confront the wound head on.

“That’s… ah…” the woman spoke shakily again, her voice cracking as she made eye contact with Kageyama. Tears began to pool.

“Hey, Natsu,” Kageyama found himself speaking up to distract both of the girls before him. “Can I call you Natsu-chan? Would you like that?”

“Yes!” She beamed, the distraction clearly working, and her mother even offered a sad smile.

“Okay, then you can call me Tobio. That’s my given name, remember?”

“Tobio-nii-san!” The girl clapped her hands together in a pleading motion.

“Sure, sure,” Kageyama tried his best to smile despite the uncomfortable thought of having Hinata’s little sister use such a closely-related honorific with him. He didn’t know the girl all that well, but she must have known a lot more about him from talking with her brother than Kageyama thought, and felt really comfortable with him. 

“Anyway,” Kageyama continued, “you must be pretty tired, Natsu-chan. Look! It’s past nine p.m.!” He pointed to the clock on the bedside table, causing the young girl to giggle. Her mother smiled widely at Kageyama, so he continued again. “If it’s okay with your mom, how about I take you home and you can go to bed? I’ll stay all night so you’re not alone, and your mom will stay here with Shoyo. So he won’t be alone, and neither will you.”

Kageyama felt the anxiety rising in his stomach even as he spoke his idea into existence, but he knew that taking care of her daughter while she waited for her son to get out of surgery would put too big a stress on Hinata’s mother. He didn’t want to leave her alone, like he had said to the team, but maybe getting Natsu off her hands would be a better way to help. So he looked to the woman standing before him, and not the girl in her arms, as he finished sharing his idea. 

“Do you know where I live, Tobio-nii-san?” Natsu scrunched up her face quizzically as Kageyama watched her mother mull over the idea.

“Of course, I was there yesterday. I carried your brother all the way home from school.”

“Oh, right,” Natsu giggled, then reached out her arms towards Kageyama. 

“Are you sure?” Hinata’s mother stared at Kageyama as she tried to control the wild child in her arms. 

“I promise I’ll take good care of her, and even get her to school tomorrow morning. If there’s anything you need to share, like directions or anything, my number is in Shoyo’s phone.” Kageyama gestured to the table on the far side of the room, where the team had deposited Hinata’s bag and cell phone, damaged but still functioning, when they had visited. 

He waited quietly as the woman looked down at her daughter, then at her son beyond Kageyama’s shoulder, then met his eyes again. Wordlessly, she moved forward and let Natsu clutch at Kageyama’s arms, then collapsed into her seat again after Kageyama had scooped the girl up. “Thank you,” she finally breathed.

As Kageyama nodded to the tired woman and carried Natsu across the room, he did his best to cradle the girl close to his chest and shield her eyes from the sight of her brother again. It wasn’t an easy task, as the girl was crawling all over him just to say goodnight to the sleeping boy, but Kageyama didn’t want her to see anything more--no matter if she understood what it meant or not. 

Just as Kageyama crossed the threshold of Hinata’s hospital room and made it into the hallway, a swarm of hospital staff descended on the room. A handful of nurses and several doctors, all dressed in full scrubs with masks perched on their chins and goggles on the bridge of their noses, entered the room and began talking to Hinata’s mother. Kageyama stood still in the hallway for a moment and listened.

“It’s time ma’am,” one of the doctors began to speak. “We’ll be taking Shoyo to the operating room now. I just want to triple check that he hasn’t had any adverse reactions to anesthesia in the past…” Hinata’s mother was too quiet to overhear, but soon the booming voice of the doctor continued. “Good, good. Lastly, I can’t tell you how long the procedure will last, as it’s very delicate work, but I would recommend that you do what you can to get some sleep. It will be several hours at the very least.”

Kageyama didn’t stay to hear the rest of the conversation. He pulled Hinata’s younger sister closer to him, blocking from her view the water that began to rim his eyes as he walked through the doors of the hospital, and set off into the dark with a crippling sense of helplessness for the second night in a row. 

_ No,  _ Kageyama told himself.  _ I’m going to give my all to take care of Natsu, so Hinata and his mother can give their all. He’s going to be okay. _

“You know, Tobio-nii-san,” Natsu spoke quietly into Kageyama’s chest. “I know it’s really scary that Nii-chan has metal stuff stuck in him and lotsa blood everywhere, but my brother is really, really strong. Something like that is never gonna stop him.”

Kageyama’s eyes widened and the tears began to spill over. This girl knew full well the predicament her brother was in, but just like he always did, she was making the best of the situation. If their mother was anything like the two of them, she would stay by her son’s side and keep holding onto hope for as long as it would take. And that was all Kageyama could ask for. 


	7. Natsu and Nii-san

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama has offered to take care of Natsu for the night. Prepare for cuteness :)

By the time Kageyama had made it to the nearby train station, Natsu had fallen asleep in his arms. He did his best to move quietly as he boarded the train and chose a spot among the late night’s offering of open seats, deciding to leave the small girl asleep against his chest rather than risk waking her up by setting her down next to him. Train fare was not something Kageyama had budgeted into his meager spending allowance this month, but he knew that it would be much faster than walking all the way back to Hinata’s house, and Natsu obviously needed to be home and in her bed sooner rather than later. 

As the girl slept soundly, Kageyama looked out the window beside him and counted the cracks in the cement walls of the train tunnel to keep himself from really thinking. His brain and his heart were tired, and he was hopeful that sleep would come to him later just as easily as it had come to Natsu. But the constant lurching of the train as it reached and then departed from stop after stop yanked the boy out of his attempts at relaxation, so Hinata popped into his head nonetheless. 

_ What is it gonna be like, playing volleyball without him until he’s all healed up?  _ The thought had been lurking at the back of Kageyama’s head since even before the accident that morning, since they had heard the news from the nurse at the sports complex the day before that Hinata needed to take a week off.  _ At this rate, Hinata won’t be able to play again for weeks, maybe months. Sure, I mesh well with the other attackers, and Tanaka especially has been stepping up his game, but everybody always tells me and him that we have a solid partnership on the court. Will we be able to push forward without him and qualify for some good tournaments by the time he’s back? _

By focusing on the team as a whole in his pensive state, Kageyama refused to allow himself to ask the question of whether or not Hinata would be able to step onto the court again at all. That, too, was lingering just under the surface of his consciousness, but voicing it would be the same thing as losing all hope. Just one look at the boy’s wounds was enough to make anyone have doubts that he could return to athletic habits of any kind. 

Kageyama looked down at the younger sister of his teammate and found a sense of comfort wash over him again, albeit a small one. As the train slowed to a stop at the platform nearest to Hinata’s neighborhood, he hoisted the girl into his arms again and made a silent vow not to have any more negative thought spirals. He was stronger than that now. Hinata and the rest of the team had taught him, in the months they had known each other, how to overcome the doubt and hatred that he had picked up playing for Kitagawa Daiichi, and now he knew he needed to teach himself how to apply what he’d learned to situations outside of volleyball. He needed to believe in his teammates, especially Hinata, and stop grasping for control where it was impossible to achieve it. 

During the short walk that followed Kageyama’s exit from the train platform and from his internal struggle, he distracted himself by taking the time to notice things about Hinata’s neighborhood that he hadn’t noticed when carrying him home the day before. These were all things that Hinata was probably all-too-familiar with, and it made Kageyama smile to know that he was learning something new about the boy, in a way. There was a small cafe on the corner, cakes and breads lining the windows. Across from that was a little electronics store, the televisions and computer monitors all turned off for the night, but it sparked a memory. 

Hinata had once mentioned that he had first seen the Little Giant playing on a t.v. in a shop window as he was riding his bike. It had been so utterly transfixing that the boy had stopped in the middle of the street to watch the match, and that was the day his goal to become the next Little Giant had been born. Maybe this was where that moment took place...

Kageyama slowly stepped up to the window of the shop and stared at the t.v. on the other side of the glass, noticing that his and Natsu’s reflections shimmered back at him in the dim streetlight. Overcome by tiredness and raw emotion, Kageyama let his tears begin to spill over as he pictured himself in his uniform, the young girl in his arms morphing into her older brother for a moment, beaming proudly in his own uniform. The tears this time weren’t sad or desperate, but the result of shock. Kageyama understood now that he was undergoing what he imagined to be the same experience Hinata had had as he stared at the blank screen in front of him, and his heart swelled with confidence that the future Hinata had told him about would come to pass one day soon. He turned away and quickly brushed away his tears, then ran the rest of the way back to Hinata’s home. 

As he was walking down the front walkway of the house, his phone buzzed in his pocket. A message from a random number read, “ _ I hope you’ve made it back safely! _ ” So it was Hinata’s mother. Kageyama skimmed over the rest of the message, noting that a house key had been hidden inside a pot near the door and that they kept a futon in the closet near the kitchen for guests to use. 

Somehow managing not to wake Natsu, Kageyama rustled around in the pot and found the key, then kicked his shoes off at the genkan and stepped into the house. He tiptoed around, opening and closing doors near Hinata’s bedroom as he searched for Natsu’s room. Finally finding it, he crept inside and placed the girl in her bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin, before he crept back to the hallway and found the futon in the closet. Almost as soon as Kageyama’s head hit the futon, which he had spread out in the living room, his tired body was asleep.

***

Morning light streaming through the unshaded window woke Kageyama up again before even his alarm did, and it felt like he hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep. Despite that, his rest had been deep and dreamless. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then jumped as his phone began buzzing.

“That’s not my alarm, though?” Kageyama mumbled as he fumbled around on the floor to reach for his phone. “Uh... hello?”

“Tobio! I’m standing outside the door of your friend’s house!” It was his older sister, Miwa. “When you texted last night saying you were staying over to take care of his kid sister, I realized you didn’t have, like, anything you need for a sleepover. Come on, let me in!”

Kageyama sighed and hung up the phone, then did his best to pat down his hair before moving on to tidy up his uniform button-down and pants, which he had ended up having to sleep in. As he made it to the door and carefully unlocked it, Miwa burst into the house.

“God, did you sleep in that? Look at those wrinkles! You should thank me, because I brought you a new shirt and pants. Please tell me you didn’t sleep in your jacket, too, because I can’t help you with that one.”

“Geez, I’m not dumb!” Kageyama growled as he retreated back to the living room and gestured to the small coffee table, where his jacket sat folded nicely.

“Good boy,” Miwa smiled as she deposited a load of items onto the table next to the jacket. Among them were a toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, deodorant, his phone charger, and underwear. 

“You went through my underwear drawer?”

“Oh, you’re complaining? Do you really want to show up at school wearing the same underwear you did yesterday?”

“Nobody would know but me,” Kageyama grumbled as he lowered his gaze.

“Gosh, boys! Nasty creatures!” Miwa exclaimed as she sat down at the low table. “Now, I’m sure your friend is fine with you bathing at his house, so go wash up!”

“But Natsu--”

“I’ll get breakfast going for her, and you take over when you’re done. I need to be at work in half an hour, so don’t dawdle. Now, where’s the kitchen?” 

Kageyama pointed in the direction of the kitchen as he started walking down the hallway in search of the bathroom. He had woken up much earlier than necessary because he knew that cooking in someone else’s home, without knowing where everything was, would be a challenge. He wanted to prepare something healthy and filling for Natsu to help her do her best at school, so he was very appreciative that his sister had come to the rescue, if only just to get breakfast started.

After moving as quickly as possible through getting dressed for the day, Kageyama returned to the kitchen to find Miwa at the stove. She was cooking a traditional Japanese breakfast, including miso soup and fish. It maybe wouldn’t be as fun for a little kid as something like pancakes or waffles would be, but it was definitely more nutritional and homely.

“It’s a good thing there were a few leftovers in the fridge, because this family is seriously short on groceries,” she quipped as she heard her brother padding into the room.

“Well, Hinata’s mom works full-time, so I don’t think she’s been grocery shopping recently given everything that’s happened to him over the last few days. I don’t think his dad is around, but I can’t say for sure.”

“Right,” Miwa murmured quietly, realization seeming to dawn on her. “Well,” she continued, looking up at him. “You’re looking much more normal now, so I think I’ll head out. I have fifteen minutes and I don’t intend on being late, so get your butt over here and man the cooking.”

Kageyama grasped his sister’s arm as she tried to slip past him. “Thank you for doing all this, Nee-chan. You really didn’t have to, with your own job to prepare for and all.”

“No problem, little brother,” Miwa playfully punched his arm. “I’m always looking out for you and your friends, even if you won’t ever introduce me to them. Tell your bud I’m thinking of him next time you get to talk to him.” She leaned forward and placed a light kiss on her brother’s cheek before heading back to the genkan and slipping her shoes on. She offered a final wave, then rushed out the door.

As Kageyama stepped over to the stove and gave the searing fish a confident flip, he heard a door creak somewhere behind him in the house. Soft padding reverberated down the hallway and into the kitchen, and he turned around to see Natsu yawning, already fully dressed in her own uniform.

“Good morning, Natsu-chan!” Kageyama beamed at her, doing his best to shake the sleepiness from his system. “I hope you slept well! Are you hungry?”

“Mhm!” Natsu returned his smile as she scrambled onto a seat at the kitchen table and folded her hands, waiting patiently. “I heard you talking to someone though. Did mommy come home?”

“Ah… no. That was actually my older sister. She dropped some stuff off for me and helped me get breakfast started. And here it is!” 

Kageyama did his best to balance a tray full of the fish, rice, miso soup, and several small side dishes as he made his way over to the table, then sat down across from Natsu. The two dug in immediately and rabidly devoured everything in front of them, both still starving from the small dinners they had had the night before. 

“This is really good, Tobio-nii-san! The coach guy gave me dinner last night, but it was only an energy bar from one of the vending machines at your school! Blegh!” 

“Well, you can thank my sister for most of it, but I appreciate it!”

After every single morsel was gone, Kageyama glanced at the time on his phone. He quickly plugged it into an outlet near the kitchen sink as he began carrying dishes over. 

“I can help now!” Natsu beamed, stacking up the smaller bowls and racing behind him. She pulled a small step stool out from between the stove and the refrigerator and set it up beside Kageyama at the sink. “We’ll get this done fast if you wash and I dry! Me and Nii-chan help mommy with breakfast everyday, so I’m really good at drying!”

“Thanks, Natsu-chan!” Kageyama beamed, but then found thoughts of Hinata flooding back into his head as he stared at the soapy water between his hands. 

Even though Natsu was so eager to help, there was still a lot she wouldn’t be able to do at her young age. Without Hinata around in the coming days, their mother would have to shoulder so much of the responsibility alone. He worked quietly to clean the dishes in front of him, and Natsu seemed to notice, as she quieted down as well. Soon, the dishes were done and Natsu was attempting to place them back in the cupboards, but she was too short even with the step stool. 

“Woah, careful there!” Kageyama grabbed her from behind and placed her down on the floor. “Besides, we need to get you ready for school! If we have time, I’ll put them away before we leave. Now, let’s go brush your teeth!”

Natsu giggled and ran to the bathroom, where a smaller step stool waited for her to climb to the sink. She scooped a small orange toothbrush out of a pink cup to the right of the sink, then held it out to Kageyama.

“Nii-chan usually squeezes a big glob on it for me,” she said, a shadow of sadness passing over her smile for a moment.

“Okay, I can do that,” Kageyama replied, scanning the counter for a tube of toothpaste. On the left side of the sink stood a white cup with a black toothbrush sitting in it, definitely Hinata’s. A heavy sensation began to weigh down on Kageyama’s chest. It was weird to see such personal items of his while he was miles away in a sterile, uniform environment. He quickly resumed scanning and noticed a tube of toothpaste sitting next to Hinata’s cup. He flipped open the cap and began squeezing the paste onto Natsu’s brush. “So you and Shoyo brush your teeth together every morning?”

“Every night, too! When I was younger he would do it with me to show me how, so it just became a habit. He does other stuff for me in the morning, too, so mommy has time to get ready for work. He brushes my hair and then braids or puts it in pigtails for me.”

Kageyama shivered a bit as he noticed the little girl’s eyes start to water. She turned away from him as she stuck the toothbrush in her mouth and started brushing. “Um,” he placed both hands on the counter and leaned forward, trying to see her face. “Would you like me to do that? Do your hair, I mean.”

Natsu turned back to him with the toothbrush still jabbed into her mouth, tears slowly dripping down her cheeks. She nodded slowly as she continued brushing. 

“Okay, I’ll do my best. I don’t have a younger sister, so I’ve never really done hair before, but I’ll try!” Kageyama smiled widely at the little girl as she finished brushing and spit into the sink, then rinsed out her mouth. “So, pigtails or braids?”

Natsu opened a small drawer to the right of the sink and pulled out a hairbrush, along with two small hair ties with blue beads attached to them. “Nii-chan gave these to me for my birthday last year and I wear them almost everyday. He says he likes them best with the pigtails, so I want pigtails, please.” She timidly outstretched her hands to offer them to Kageyama.

After he scooped them out of her small hands, Natsu gripped the edge of the counter and hoisted herself up, then sat down with her legs dangling off the edge of the counter to the side of the sink. “This makes it easier for Nii-chan to do my hair, so it’ll be easier for you, too, right?” 

Kageyama began to brush the girl’s fiery orange hair, and stifled a chuckle as he pictured himself doing the same to her brother. Hinata’s hair might be long enough on the top to put into some small pigtails that would jut straight upwards, and the image of him walking onto the volleyball court with that sort of updo almost made Kageyama start to cackle. As he got his wild imagery under control, though, he noticed Natsu was in her own world as well.

“What are you humming, Natsu-chan?” He asked as he started to separate her hair into two big clumps. 

“Oh, nothing! It’s just a song we made up a long time ago that we like to sing together when we’re getting ready. I miss him today, so I’m humming it myself.”

“How does it go?”

“It’s stupid really, Nii-chan was pretty young himself when we thought it up, but it stuck… Okay, here goes… It’s time to get ready, so we can do our best! You and I will work real hard, so we aren’t both a mess! You have big dreams, I’ve got them too! It’s time to get ready, there’s lots of work to do!” Natsu’s face in the mirror immediately started blushing as soon as her song was finished. 

“That’s cute, Natsu-chan! Um… how old was Shoyo when you guys came up with that?” 

“Oh, early middle school maybe.” She tapped her fingers together as she looked nervously at Kageyama in the mirror.

“Makes sense,” Kageyama said more to himself than to the girl in front of him. “He was so determined to do his best practicing volleyball even when he didn’t have a team that he pumped himself up every morning with a song?”  _ And he still does it every single day?  _ Kageyama shook his head in disbelief as he wound the last hair tie around Natsu’s hair. “Well, what do you think?”

Natsu beamed widely even though the pigtails were a bit lopsided and stray strands of hair were left out. “They’re perfect! Thank you, Tobio-nii-san!”

“No problem, now let’s get moving! We both need to get to school on time!”

***

Their walk to Natsu’s school was filled with singing and skipping on Natsu’s part, as she recounted various other stories of creating songs together with her older brother. As they reached the front gate of her school, Natsu’s homeroom teacher was waiting for her and waved to Kageyama.

“Natsu’s mother made us aware of the situation last night, dear boy. Please accept my well wishes for Shoyo’s health, and thank you for taking care of our little Natsu!”

Kageyama waved back to the teacher as he began his own trek to Karasuno, experiencing for the first time the complete headache it was to complete Hinata’s commute under a time crunch. He didn’t want to face it, but soon enough, he was back on top of the wretched hill he had encountered the day before, where he had found Hinata pinned between the car and the tree. As he passed the hole in the railing, Kageyama refused to let his eyes wander from straight ahead of him and he picked up speed, almost beginning to jog as he started down the hill. 

By the time he reached the bottom, thoughts of Hinata were swarming Kageyama’s brain to the point where he couldn’t focus on what he was doing. He pulled to the side of the sidewalk and sat down on a bench, then focused on calming the rhythm of his breathing.  _ In, out, slowly, okay, yeah, you’re fine. Don’t freaking be late for school, man.  _

But he couldn’t move forward again until he had at least given his mind some sort of reassurance, so he grabbed his cell phone and pulled up the messages from Hinata’s mother.  _ “Good morning, Mrs. Hinata!,”  _ he typed out as quickly as he could manage.  _ “I just wanted to let you know that Natsu is safe and sound at school! I’m on my way to school now and was just wondering if there’s any news you can share about Shoyo. Is he out of surgery? Did it go well? Will he be allowed visitors this afternoon?” _

After hitting send, Kageyama stared at the screen for a solid minute. But there was no reply, not even the little dots that meant she was typing. So he shoved the phone back into his pocket and started jogging again to make up for the lost time. As he crossed over the threshold of the school courtyard, the other members of the team were grouped together in a circle near the main door.

“Any news?” Yachi asked eagerly as he approached. “We didn’t really hear anything from you last night.”

“Sorry,” Kageyama shook his head. “I ended up taking Natsu, Hinata’s little sister, home and caring for her so Hinata’s mom could stay with him. I took her to school this morning, too, and I just texted to see if there are any updates, but nothing yet.”

The rest of the team looked downcast as he shared his news, but they quickly plastered on fake smiles as they broke apart and headed to their respective classrooms. As Kageyama took his seat in his own classroom, he again found himself staring at his phone in the hopes of receiving a reply. But this time, the fear was so all encompassing that he kept his eyes glued to the screen even after class started. He walked through his day with his phone in his hand, crammed under the lip of the desk in every class, his charging cord wound up in his pocket, at the ready, at every moment. 

As lunchtime rolled around, he walked into the cafeteria to see the whole team sitting together for the first time. They all looked terribly stony-faced, and his heart hurt to have to tell them his news. There was still no response. 

“She’s probably too occupied with caring for Hinata to be able to care about updating people outside of the family,” Asahi stated to the group, trying to provide the reassurance Kageyama, along with everyone else, had been craving all morning. 

“But she knows how concerned Kageyama was yesterday,” Sugawara replied, glancing at Kageyama, who was still staring at the phone and not eating. 

“I’ll send her another message,” he offered quietly, “but I don’t want to be pushy and annoying, so if I don’t hear from her by the end of lunch, I’ll put my phone away and I won’t look at it until school is over. I’ll go crazy otherwise.”

“I think that is a wise decision,” Daichi replied, grasping his shoulder tightly. “Now, please eat your food. You need your strength.”

Kageyama nodded as he shot off another quick message:  _ “Any updates? The team is wondering, but no worries if you can’t reply right now.”  _

He had lifted an onigiri up to his mouth and was just about to take a bite when the little dots sprung up which indicated that Hinata’s mother was replying. 

“Guys!” Kageyama screamed and threw his hands out to tap at the boys and girls around him, letting the onigiri go crashing onto the table next to the phone. The little dots continued, but before the message went through, the bell signaling the end of the period rang. 

“Kageyama,” a voice behind the group bellowed as they stood. His homeroom teacher. “I understand the situation you and your fellow volleyball enthusiasts are in, but I’ve been alerted that you’ve had your phone on all morning. Please don’t make it a habit after lunch as well, or there will be consequences.”

Kageyama grimaced as he locked the phone and tossed it into his bag, receiving fate’s unlucky hand as the  _ bzz!  _ of a new message shook the bag at his side. 

_ Damn!  _ He screamed internally as he walked past his homeroom teacher and headed into the direction of his classroom. Any more of this unanswered waiting and his heart would give out. 


	8. A New Normal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of Kageyama's anxiety-ridden waiting is coming to an end. Or is it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know much about Hinata's home life, but this fic exists in a universe where Hinata's dad is out of the picture. If that's canon, then this is canon-compliant! If not, then this isn't. That's all!

Kageyama was out of his seat and racing towards the classroom door as soon as the day’s final bell began to sound. Other students backed out of his way and watched with concern flickering over their faces before spilling out after him into the hallway. The restlessness that had been gnawing at his insides all afternoon was finally quieting down as he pulled his cell phone out of the pocket of his bag. Kageyama barreled down the hall while scrolling through the list of notifications that had accumulated since lunchtime, reaching the  _ getabako _ where students were putting away their school shoes just in time to see the team beginning to group up around Coach Ukai. 

“Kageyama, Tsukishima!” Ukai waved his hand towards him, allowing Kageyama the chance to whip around and see the other first-year approaching behind him. “I’m glad I caught all of you before you made it over to the club room.”

Kageyama grimaced down at his cell phone before slipping it into his pocket and jogging over to the group. “What’s up, Coach?” Kageyama spoke with a hint of annoyance managing to slip through.

Ukai folded his arms as Tsukishima stopped at Kageyama’s side, then surveyed the group before him. “Just one look at any of your faces,” he grunted, “and I can tell that none of you have the heart to pretend like today will be a normal, everyday practice. I’ve been debating it all day anyway, but seeing all of you in person just solidifies it in my mind. Practice is canceled.”

Not a single cry of dissent issued from the group. Instead, silence reverberated around the circle. 

“So,” Ukai continued, “take this time to care for yourselves. Make sure you are healthy in mind and spirit, and we can consider reconvening again tomorrow. We’ll take it day-by-day until you all are ready to come back to the court. It has always been a place of passion and fun for you all, and it is my responsibility and pleasure as your coach to keep it that way. The gym will be open if anyone wants to do some mindless scrimmaging, and I’ll be in the office with Takeda for the next hour if anyone needs to talk, but please go home if you need to. We’re here for you all.” He nodded firmly before falling silent.

The boys looked around at each other, not really sure what to do with the unexpected free time they had been given. Some began to break away from the group, but Kageyama held up his hand to stop them.

“I’ve been waiting all afternoon to read a message I got from Hinata’s mom, if anyone wants to hear it.” No one spoke, so Kageyama pulled out the phone and pulled up the message. “She texted just at the end of lunch. It says Hinata’s surgery went through the whole night and he was brought back to his room early this morning, probably around the time we all were getting ready for school. It went well, they got the glass and the handlebar out, but the doctors said he lost a lot of blood in the crash.”

“Did she get to talk to Shoyo?” Nishinoya popped his head over Kageyama’s shoulder to look at the message.

“She didn’t mention anything about that. Maybe he was still recovering from the anesthesia when she replied to me.”

“What about visiting hours? Can we go and see him?” Yachi leaned in next to Nishinoya and spoke almost in a whisper. Shimizu placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as Kageyama shook his head.

“No mention of that, either. But we could always just try to see him and if they kick us out, they kick us out.”

“It’ll be best if only a few of you go,” Ukai spoke up. “You won’t want to overwhelm Hinata’s mother, and especially not Hinata if he is awake. He’s been through an ordeal.”

The team members looked around at each other again, all seeming eager to be the ones to go. But they all knew who among them should go.

“Kageyama, it has to be you,” Sugawara said as he locked eyes with him from across the circle. “Hinata’s mom knows you, so she might actually be at ease having you around. And maybe she would appreciate having another woman to talk to?” He swiveled his gaze around to the two managers. 

Shimizu nodded in agreement, then turned to place her free hand on Yachi’s other shoulder. “You’re closer with Hinata than I am, Hitoka-chan. You two really got to know each other outside of practice, when you helped him study. I’m sure he’ll be happy to see you if he’s awake. Take care of him and his mother for the rest of us.”

“I’ll do my best!” Yachi replied as she bowed her head slightly. Before she could join Kageyama by the entryway, however, Nishinoya piped up again.

“Coach Ukai, do you think it’d be okay if others went too, just to wait in the waiting room or something? I’d really like to support Shoyo even if I can’t see him.”

“As long as you don’t crowd up the hallway or take up room where you shouldn’t be, like you did last night, I suppose it would be fine.”

Nishinoya offered the coach a confident smile before joining Yachi, and Ukai had to keep himself from smirking as he watched nearly every member of the team follow suit. Only Tsukishima stood his ground where he had been in the circle, but his facade of indifference was broken almost instantly as Yamaguchi scampered back to him and tugged him along after the others. 

***

As Kageyama and the others entered the main waiting area of the hospital after a short train ride, he was caught by surprise to see Hinata’s mother standing by a vending machine in the corner of the room, wearing the same clothes as the day before and staring vacantly into a cup of coffee. The others stood back and watched as Kageyama approached her, and she slowly lifted her head as she noticed him.

“Kageyama, you’re here again,” she sighed, seeming almost relieved to see him. “Did my little Natsu give you any trouble?”

“No ma’am, she was very responsible and cooperative.”

“Oh, good.” She swirled the coffee around, then took a long sip. Kageyama waited a moment for her to continue, but she returned her gaze to the cup in her hands. Her eyes looked sunken in and dark.

“Um… how is Shoyo? Would it be alright for me to see him? I brought another friend of his, Yachi Hitoka.” Kageyama turned and waved for Yachi to join them, so she scampered over quietly.

“Hello, ma’am,” Yachi smiled and bowed to the tired woman.

“You look familiar, Yachi.”

“Oh, if you’ve ever been to a Karasuno game, I’m the new manager training under Shimizu-senpai. I also helped your son study for school a bit, but I don’t think we’ve ever met personally.”

“Ah,” Hinata’s mother smiled wearily as she replied. “That’s what it is. Shoyo has mentioned your name before. He went on and on about how you saved his volleyball dream by helping with that. Thank you, dear.” She bowed her head slightly, causing Yachi’s face to flush deep red. 

Kageyama had patiently watched their exchange even though his initial question had gone unanswered, but now he was growing restless. He began running his fingers across the fabric of the bag slung across his shoulder, and Hinata’s mother noticed.

“Oh, Kageyama, how thoughtless of me to ignore your question! I haven’t slept much, so I’m feeling a bit scatterbrained. I needed to get out of that room for a little while, I just couldn’t bear it any longer.” Kageyama felt a tightness form in his throat as he listened to the woman speak. 

“He’s okay, right?”

“Actually, honey,” she sighed again as her fingers tightened around the coffee. “Shoyo hasn’t woken up yet. He should have hours ago, but he just hasn’t. I’ve been out here for about half an hour, so I really should get back and see if anything has changed.” The woman downed the rest of her coffee and tossed the empty cup in the can next to the vending machine. 

“May we come with you?” Yachi reached forward and took her arm, shooting a glance at Kageyama as if to say,  _ “Hey, I’ve got this. You don’t have to act like you’ve got it all together in front of her, because I will!”  _

As Hinata’s mother nodded slowly in response, Kageyama fell behind the two women a few paces and let emotion begin to flood his face. As the three passed the other members of the team, several offered comforting touches to his arm or shoulder before settling down in the seats strewn across the waiting room. Kageyama tried to control his anxious breathing as he listened to the women talking.

“Is there anything I can do to help you out, ma’am?”

“How sweet of you, dear. I wish there was something, but you’re doing perfectly just being here for me and my son now.” She patted Yachi’s hand, still draped over her own, as her eyes clouded over. “I’m not sure if Shoyo has ever shared this with you two, but I’m a single mother. I’m the breadwinner of the family, of course. I don’t want my son having to work to help me out when he’s got something he’s so passionate about to spend his free time doing instead. I left work early yesterday, and I took today off as well, but I have to get back to it tomorrow. What will I do?”

“Won’t your boss understand that you need to be with your son, though?” Kageyama finally spoke behind her.

“I already used all of my emergency days off for this year when Natsu had a bad cold a few weeks ago. Today was my last one. So I guess what I will ask the two of you to do, even though you’ve already done so much Kageyama, is to be with my son when you can. I don’t want him to be alone when I can’t be there with him.”

They reached the door of Hinata’s hospital room as she fell silent, and she stepped aside to usher the two students in before her. She seemed to pause at the threshold, but Kageyama turned back and outstretched his hand. 

“We’re here with you, ma’am.”

She smiled gently at him as she took his hand, and the three walked into the room together. They made their way to the bedside, where Kageyama helped the woman lower herself into the chair she had probably slept in the night before. He sat down beside her, and Yachi leaned against the windowsill next to him. 

“Nothing’s changed,” the tired mother breathed out as she instinctively ran her fingers through the curls of the sleeping boy. Kageyama watched her fingers trailing through the fiery orange of his hair, then allowed himself to lower his gaze. 

Hinata was still sleeping, just as his mother had informed them, but now he lay on his back, a small pillow nestled between his body and the edge of the bed to keep his weight from pressing down on the wound on his back. He was clothed in proper hospital attire now, the tiniest hint of a bandage peeking out of the front of his shirt. A thick white blanket was pulled up to his chest, obscuring any sign of the injuries to his stomach and leg and also covering one of his arms. His left arm rested nearest to Kageyama, exposed to the chill in the room as an IV needle was nestled into a vein in his hand. An oxygen mask was still strapped to the boy’s face, which looked more peaceful now, the beads of sweat wiped from his forehead and his eyes closed so lightly that it looked like they might open at any moment. But Hinata’s lips were parted under the mask, his breaths coming unsteadily, and his skin was still pale. 

“He looks better than the last time I saw him,” Kageyama said as he placed a hand over the trembling fingers of the woman beside him, trying to reassure himself as much as her. “I was worried that they wouldn’t bandage him up in time, but they did, so I’m thankful.”

“Twenty-seven stitches in his back, thirty-four in his stomach, and thirty-five in his leg,” Hinata’s mother nodded as she spoke. “They said it was a miracle that they didn’t have to amputate his leg.”

The worries that had followed Kageyama home the night before flooded back into his mind as he listened to Hinata’s mother. Hinata’s leg wouldn’t be fit to stand on for a long time, let alone race across a court and jump. But that didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was seeing those eyes open. Those eyes that were always shining, bursting with the passion and energy that Hinata put into everything. Kageyama hadn’t realized that he was staring at them until the woman beside him began to sob. 

“Ugh, I’m exhausted! I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be acting like this in front of you two,” she groaned as she wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her shirt. 

“Can I offer something, Mrs. Hinata?” Yachi slipped behind Kageyama’s chair and placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Can you and I go on a walk together around the hospital? Maybe find somewhere you can clean up a bit and find something healthy to eat?”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to eat again for a long time, sweetie, but that sounds nice.” Hinata’s mother stood and Yachi walked her to the door.

“Ma’am,” Kageyama stood. “I’ll stay with Shoyo for as long as you need, so please take your time. If you need to go home and sleep for a few hours, I promise I will stay with him.”

“Thank you, Kageyama. Maybe I will take you up on that offer. I’m sure Natsu misses me, and I can’t ask her teacher to keep watching over her all night.” She smiled back at him before linking arms with Yachi again as they headed down the hallway. 

Kageyama sighed and sat down again once they had departed, moving over to the seat closer to the head of the bed. He reached out and touched the top of Hinata’s hand, gasping at the iciness of his skin. Kageyama pulled his chair forward and rested his elbows on the side of the bed, then cupped Hinata’s hand within his own and began to rub his fingers across it, careful not to disturb the medical tape that held the IV in place.

“What am I going to do with you, idiot,” he whispered as his gaze returned to Hinata’s closed eyes. 

***

Kageyama had spent the remainder of that night at Hinata’s side, texting his teammates occasionally to pass the time, and also speaking with the doctors and nurses that would pop in and out of the room. Hinata’s mother had insisted that the doctors share any pressing information with Kageyama, as she had mulled over his offer and decided to go home to sleep. The doctors would call her with anything drastically important, but Kageyama was charged with texting her small updates once an hour. They were usually something along the lines of “No change, still asleep” or “Doctors say his breathing is still stable enough.” 

The other boys, too, had decided to head home after a few hours. The doctors had given them permission to pop in individually as they were leaving, though, so each player was able to give Kageyama a reassuring message before departing. Even Tsukishima tried to say something encouraging, before ultimately deciding to leave it at a thumbs up before heading home. Kageyama himself had finally left at around midnight, when Hinata’s mother had returned with a bag packed full of things to allow her to have a more comfortable night: blankets and a pillow from home, a toothbrush and other toiletries, and a change of clothes for the morning. She would be heading directly to work from the hospital and had scoured the neighborhood on her way for someone reliable to watch Natsu overnight.

“I simply can’t ask you to care for her again, Kageyama,” she had said upon arrival at the hospital when Kageyama had asked about the girl. “You’re a high school student and you have enough to focus on as it is.” 

And the following days seemed to follow in much the same way: Kageyama and Hinata’s mother would head over to the hospital after school and work were finished, and would spend some time with the boy in shifts. After the weekend had come and gone, volleyball practice resumed, and Kageyama started coming to the hospital later in the evening. He worked out a system with Hinata’s mother, where she would be with him in the early evening, then head home to spend time with Natsu once practice was over and Kageyama could make his way over. Other boys from the team often came with Kageyama, but he stayed until visiting hours were over while they often had to be home to spend time with family. Hinata’s mother had also stopped sleeping at the hospital, finding the stress to have too much of an impact on her productivity at work, so Kageyama stayed as late as possible. Every night, he would shut off the dim light on the bedside table, place his hand lightly on top of the sleeping boy’s head, and say, “See you tomorrow, idiot,” before pulling the blankets up higher on his body and softly closing the door on his way out. 

Practice was weird as hell, too. Ukai had waited almost a week for Hinata to wake up before ultimately deciding that they had to continue if they didn’t want to get rusty. The first day they had all returned to the court, most of the boys had been completely silent during warm up. Everything about their flow was messed up, as nobody was calling the balls they were planning to receive or toss and communication was almost nonexistent. The room read more like colleagues at work than teammates training together. Even as the days passed and some seemed to adapt to this new sense of normal, Kageyama still found himself in a funk. He missed more than a handful of passes from the receivers during each practice, and all of his tosses to the spikers were consistently too high. With Hinata on his mind so often, he kept setting at the height he was used to playing at with the boy, and other players just couldn’t handle it.

A week after practice had resumed, and more than two weeks after Hinata had come out of surgery comatose, Coach Ukai pulled Kageyama aside at the end of practice one day.

“What is it, Coach? Can we talk tomorrow? I usually go see Hinata after practice.”

“I know, Kageyama, I know,” Ukai sighed. “Listen, I’ll keep this brief. I know everybody is struggling a little bit right now, but you can use this time during practice every day as a way to let out your emotions. Channel them into being an asset to the team. I can see you out there every day, drowning in your own thoughts. It’s visible in your setting, your communication, everything. I want you to enjoy being here, despite everything that’s going on in your life. Do you still enjoy being here?”

Kageyama found himself unable to meet the coach’s eyes, staring instead at his shoes. “I want to enjoy it, sir, but it’s not the same as it was before. Hinata had everything to do with how I was embraced by this team, how I embraced everyone. I don’t know how to play without him.”

“Hinata showed you how to adapt to playing with others, right? How to adjust to their playstyles and find what works for you as a collective?” Kageyama nodded. “Then, this is your time to show him that you’ve really taken that to heart. Do your best, grow, and show him how much you’ve changed. He’ll wake up, and you’ll show him that all the time he was away from the team, the way he changed you was still resonating in your heart and driving you forward.”

Kageyama felt a tear trickle down his cheek before he could hide his face, and Ukai pulled him into a tight hug. “Thank you,” he whispered into Ukai’s shoulder before pulling back and wiping the sleeve of his track jacket across his eyes. Ukai watched as he slowly walked towards the door of the gym, but then called to him as he reached the threshold.

“I was going to tell everyone this tomorrow, but I think you need to hear it now. I’ve arranged for you guys to play a casual scrimmage match against Nekoma in two weeks’ time. I thought it would be good for all of you to do something for the fun of it, but if you’re serious about showing Hinata what you’ve learned from him, get better before that match. And tell Hinata today that that’s your goal, no matter if he can hear you or not. Tell him that when he wakes up, because he will, he’ll be watching a new Kageyama out on the court.”

“Yes sir!” Kageyama shouted at the top of his lungs, feeling goosebumps rise on his skin. He bowed low before running out of the gym, hardly able to contain his emotion as he set out for the hospital. 


	9. One Reassurance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More time has passed since Kageyama's talk with Ukai, and he has spent his days more or less the same way. The match with Nekoma is drawing closer, but visiting Hinata is still Kageyama's top priority.

Kageyama’s eyes began to grow heavy as he stared at the homework strewn across his lap. He glanced over at Hinata, asleep in the bed before him as he had been each day Kageyama had come to visit since his talk with Ukai the week before. That day, Kageyama had raced to the hospital and plopped down in his usual seat before proceeding to recount his entire conversation with Ukai, despite the fact that Hinata hadn’t even batted an eyelash. And as the days passed, he had strived to do his best at practices and get back into the swing of things. 

So now, exhaustion from today’s practice overwhelming him, Kageyama closed the book in his lap and tossed it onto the chair next to him. He could do his homework later, or even get up early to finish it in the morning if he had to. He scooted his chair forward and propped his elbows on the side of the bed, cupping his chin in his hands, and simply watched Hinata slowly breathe in and out. 

In the weeks that had passed since the accident, the bruising on Hinata’s face from the game against Inarizaki had almost entirely disappeared, leaving him seemingly healthy in all ways but the most important. His breathing was still slow and labored, still assisted by the oxygen mask that Kageyama was beginning to detest the sight of. 

Another thing that Kageyama had originally found annoying during his first few visits to the hospital was the heart monitor machine that loomed above his head. The constant, repetitive rhythm of the beeping had been an immense and terrible distraction whenever he had attempted to do his homework, or even as he had talked to the sleeping Hinata. But as time dragged on, Kageyama began to grow accustomed to the sound of the machine, even appreciative of it, as it was his one reassurance that Hinata was still fighting, still holding on. Now, as Kageyama took in the silence of the room, the beeping of the monitor its only reprieve, he was comforted by that very sound. He quickly surrendered to the heaviness weighing on his eyelids and lowered his head to the bed, resting just inches away from where Hinata’s hand lay. 

Kageyama’s sleep was dreamless, or at least he couldn’t recall any of those dreams as a peculiar noise ripped him away from his own mind. The rhythmic calmness that had settled in the room with the presence of the heart monitor had been replaced by a jittery, rapid tune that varied in speed and caused Kageyama to shoot up to his feet. 

“Hinata!” Kageyama shouted as he grabbed the boy by his shoulders and gently jostled him. Hinata’s heart rate was fluctuating rapidly, dropping before elevating and then staying at an elevated rate, and the beeping was incessant. Kageyama, panicking, looked back and forth between the heart monitor and the boy before him, still clutching his shoulders but completely frozen in place. 

“Kageyama, move out of the way!” a voice behind him screeched, bringing Kageyama back to his senses. The nurse who had taken care of Hinata, and who had actually spent a lot of time with Kageyama over the weeks as a result, barged into the room with a surprising sense of panic spreading across her face. Just as she reached the bed, however, the intense beeping of the heart monitor began to slow again. Within a minute, Hinata’s heart rate had returned to a stable level.

Kageyama collapsed back into the chair beside the bed and stared at the nurse, standing on the other side of the bed. “Will he be okay?” he croaked weakly.

The nurse just stared at Hinata for a moment, then came around the bed and fiddled with the machine before drawing back to the foot of the bed. “He seems alright now, but I’m just going to stay in here for a little while and observe him. Just pretend like I’m not even here, okay?”

Kageyama nodded, then watched as the nurse took a seat at the small table across the room, near where Hinata’s school bag had been sitting on a chair for weeks. After she had flipped open a stack of papers and begun scribbling some notes, Kageyama leaned forward and rested his chin on the bed directly beside Hinata’s head, letting his arms rest across his knees.

“Oi, dumbass,” he whispered into the boy’s ear. “Don’t scare me like that again, okay? I’ve been working really hard to be better, so you need to do that, too. You can’t give up yet. You’ve got so many things left to accomplish. Right, Hinata?”

He watched Hinata’s breath coming in and out slower and slower, clouding up the mask across his face, as his heart rate continued to settle down. He watched as each eyelash vibrated slightly with the rising and falling of his chest, as locks of hair settled across his damp forehead. As the nurse gathered up her things and left, Kageyama lifted a hand and gently looped one finger around a curl that had crept over Hinata’s ear. He tucked it carefully behind the boy’s ear before leaning closer.

“Oi, Hinata,” Kageyama whispered again, taking on a sarcastic whining tone in the unorganized logic of his post-practice fatigue. “Hinataaaa… Hinataaaaa… Shoooouuuuyooooooo…”

Kageyama jumped back at the soft touch of fingers against his shoulder. Hinata’s hand froze in the air where Kageyama’s shoulder had been, then quickly dropped to the bed. Kageyama watched, heat and confusion bubbling up in his chest, as Hinata’s arm moved painfully slowly up towards his head, his fingers grasping at the air around him. Hinata was panting now, his eyes scrunched up hard, his head beginning to tremble as it moved closer to his hand, closer to the edge of the bed, closer to where Kageyama’s voice had been. Kageyama stood and leaned over the bed, placing one hand on the top of the boy’s head, the other just within reach of Hinata’s wandering fingers.

As soon as the tips of Hinata’s icy fingers met Kageyama’s skin, his eyes opened wide and he shot up, the heart monitor starting up another round of fast-paced beeping. Kageyama fell backward onto the edge of the bed as he made room for Hinata, who gasped loudly as his body moved. He clawed at his stomach and began to wheeze as his eyes darted rapidly around the room, tears starting to well up and then stream down his cheeks. The look in Hinata’s eyes was dazed and glossy, like he wasn’t really awake despite them being open, yet he lifted a shaky arm and tore the oxygen mask away from his face as he continued to whip his head around violently. 

“Hey, it’s okay!” Kageyama yelled as he scrambled forward, pinning down Hinata’s good leg with his weight before sitting down on the bed and holding him to himself, trapping Hinata’s arms and pressing the boy’s face underneath his chin. Kageyama kept Hinata there with one hand on the back of his head, rubbing carefully at his back as Hinata’s rapid breathing sent tremors through his body. His hand passed over Hinata’s lower back, where the sensation of a thick layer of bandages through his shirt caused panic to radiate throughout Kageyama’s body. With all of the extreme movement Hinata had just taken on, the possibility that his wounds had or would open up was extremely high.

Hinata was murmuring something almost inaudible between his gasping breaths, but Kageyama could make out small bits: “where,” “car,” “stomach… pain,” “sorry.” He lowered his face so that it was pressed near to Hinata’s ear, then continued to rub his back in slow circles.

“Hinata, it’s me. It’s Kageyama. You’re not in the car crash anymore. We found you, me and the team. You’re okay, you’re safe now. You’re in the hospital.”

“Kage...yama?” Hinata struggled between breaths, louder than he had spoken before. The way he said it sent a stab of pain through Kageyama’s chest. It was just like how he had woken up in the nurse’s office after the Inarizaki game, but this time Kageyama had been waiting weeks to hear this boy’s voice again. 

“Yes, yes, it’s me,” he said again, pressing his face gently against the side of Hinata’s head. 

“I’m fine, Kageyama… no need to... hold onto me so… tightly,” Hinata began, but as soon as the last word was out of his mouth, Kageyama felt the full weight of Hinata’s body press into him as he surrendered to core-shaking sobs. As he fought to control them, and to breathe, he clawed at the collar of Kageyama’s shirt. “Please… save the… man who was… driving.”

“He’s perfectly fine, Hinata,” Kageyama said into his ear as a scowl crept onto his face again. Hinata was clearly still very disoriented and couldn’t figure out where he was, yet he was worried about the man who had hit him above himself. The man who had treated the whole experience as only an inconvenience. He glanced down at Hinata’s back, heaving with the effort of his breath, and then glanced at the door. _Why hasn’t anybody come yet? The heart monitor is going crazy, he needs help!_ He took his hand off of Hinata’s back briefly to search the bed for the oxygen mask, but it had fallen onto the floor and Kageyama couldn’t get up to grab it without risking opening Hinata’s stomach wound. “Okay, Hinata… Shoyo… breathe with me, in… out… good.”

As Hinata’s breathing started to even out, Kageyama turned the boy's head so that the side of his face rested against Kageyama’s shoulder, his nose and mouth open to breathe in the cold air of the room. “You were hit by that guy,” Kageyama continued, “and you got pretty beat up. You were in a coma for a few weeks, but you’re at a hospital. They took good care of you, and you were strong. You woke up.”

“It was weird,” Hinata said suddenly, the speaking coming a bit easier to him. “I just saw darkness, but I kept hearing your voice, just talking about random things… Sometimes you were close… sometimes far away… I tried so hard to move, to look for you… but I couldn’t... The last time I just heard you calling my name… You were really annoying, right in… my ear… like a fly.” Hinata tried to laugh, then broke into a fit of coughing. “I tried to move,” he repeated again as a shiver ran through his body, “to run and find you, but I couldn’t in all the darkness. You’ll think... I’m like some... little kid for saying this, but I was really scared… Even now, it’s still kinda dark. Your voice is here though, so I shouldn’t be… afraid.” Hinata coughed again, and Kageyama’s body stiffened as small droplets of blood flecked across his upper arm. 

“Help!” Kageyama screamed at the open door, then turned back to see that Hinata’s eyes were drooping, open but less full of life. 

He slid his arm down Hinata’s back to the thick band of bandages, the coolness he felt there signaling that the wound had not yet been opened. He quickly shimmied his fingers between Hinata’s chest and his own, then worked down across Hinata’s shirt until he felt the familiar layer of bandages covering his stomach. It was warmer than his back, but not enough to tell if blood was seeping out. 

“Hinata,” Kageyama squished his eyes closed and whispered into his ear again, his voice splintered with hints of desperation. “You said you could hear me. I was talking about random stuff? Well, I made you a promise that I would get better and show you. Do you remember me telling you that? But I can’t keep that promise if you don’t stay awake right now. Please, please stay awake, so you can keep inspiring me and the guys to be our best, just like you always strive to do. Please… stay…”

Kageyama dared to open his eyes again just in time to see Hinata’s head slipping off of his shoulder. He caught the barely-conscious boy as he fell sideways, towards the edge of the bed, and propped his head back up just as the same nurse came running into the room.

“Where have you been?!” Kageyama tried to control his tone, but the words came out in a choked scream. His face was sopping wet with tears, but the nurse pretended not to notice as she sprinted to the bed, others pouring into the room behind her.

“I’m so sorry!” she huffed, wiping at her brow as tears began to line her own eyes. She had developed a fondness for the two boys in the time Hinata had been in her care, and letting them down was not something she had intended on doing. “There was another person crashing down the hall, all hands were needed, I couldn’t get away!” she exclaimed as she and the others gently pulled Hinata out of Kageyama’s arms and placed him down on the bed carefully. 

As the oxygen mask was placed back on his face, new drugs pumped into his IV, and his shirt opened to survey the state of his wounds, Kageyama found himself being pulled off the bed from behind by another nurse.

“You need to leave now,” he said sternly. “We need to stabilize him.”

“I understand, I know,” Kageyama was gasping, wiping the hot tears from his face as he wrestled out of the nurse’s grasp. He climbed down to the side of the bed and scooped up his abandoned textbook, doing his best not to look in Hinata’s direction as he moved. The man moved to the side to let Kageyama move past, but a tight tug on his wrist stopped Kageyama in his tracks. Hinata’s fingers were gripped so tightly around his arm that they were turning white, making dark imprints in Kageyama’s skin. 

“Don’t leave!” Hinata gasped, his eyes half-open. “Don’t leave me alone again. It was terrifying, but you found me… You stayed with me… Don’t make me feel so helpless again.”

Staring into the paradox of Hinata’s lifeless eyes and his deadly strong grip, something dawned on Kageyama. _Hinata was probably lying awake at the foot of that hill for a long time, pinned under the car with no way to move. He must have felt so scared, so alone. He must have heard all my text messages come through, but his phone was out of reach, he couldn’t do anything. And he surrendered to unconsciousness while believing that he was entirely alone, that no one would ever come for him, that he would die. He was just waiting to die. And that fear lingers with him now. That experience, that feeling is replaying inside him. It scarred him._

As Hinata’s consciousness faded, from the pain or the drugs they had just injected into his bloodstream Kageyama couldn’t tell, his grip on Kageyama’s wrist loosened and his hand dropped to hang limply over the side of the bed. The nurse behind Kageyama planted a firm grip on his shoulder, but Kageyama reached down and grasped Hinata’s fingers within his own.

“I know you can still hear me,” he said, “I’m here. You’re not alone. Just call for me when you wake up, I’ll be right here.” 

Then he carefully placed Hinata’s hand down on the bed and let himself be dragged away by the nurse. As soon as he was in the hallway, he plopped down in a chair and refused to move. The nurse just shook his head, mumbling something like, “damn, stubborn high schoolers,” before rushing into the room again.

***

Kageyama had kept his eyes trained on the door of the hospital room for the next several hours, watching as nurses and doctors slipped in and out. Each one shot him a watchful, wary glance before moving on. He had also kept a steady stream of texts going with the team and with Hinata’s mother, who was frantic with worry as she had been kept late at the office and was stuck in the middle of a terrible traffic jam. The team, on the other hand, had been overjoyed to hear that Hinata had woken up, even if just for a few minutes, and each offered Kageyama reassurance that it was only the beginning of the good news. Kageyama hadn’t been so sure himself, as Hinata had struggled so much, but his worry was put to rest when a doctor ushered several other staff members out of the room before approaching him.

“You’re still here, kid? It’s pretty late,” she said as she glanced at her watch. Even though Kageyama had been on his phone constantly since being ushered out earlier, he had no concept of what time it was or how much time had passed. He just knew that it had felt like agony. 

“Yes ma’am,” he replied quietly as he slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Shoyo’s mother isn’t here yet?” Kageyama shook his head, and the doctor frowned slightly. “Well, I guess since I know you’re keeping her informed of everything, I can’t say no to letting you back in there.”

“You mean he’s alright?”

“He’s still asleep, but that’s only because we doped him up with some painkillers and sedatives. He’ll be coming around shortly, I expect. A few of his stitches ripped, so we had to clean him up and restitch them, but no further damage than that.”

“What about the blood he coughed up?”

“Relax, sweetheart, really. We have everything under control. Your friend just moved a little too quickly for his own good, but if he does as he’s told from now on he’ll recover just fine. Try to keep him from flipping out the next time he wakes up, we don’t need this happening again. Oh, and clean your shoulder up, hun.”

Kageyama stood and nodded as the doctor briefly patted him with a small towel, then bowed as she smiled and sped off to deal with another patient. He slowly crept towards the door of Hinata’s room, then realized it would be best to let Hinata’s mother and his friends know the news. He leaned against the wall and dashed off a few quick texts, then drew a long breath and opened the door. 

Kageyama dashed across the room and took his all-too-familiar seat at Hinata’s side again, then let his arms drop to his lap. For a long moment, he took in Hinata’s face, which he could properly see for the first time in a long time. The oxygen mask was gone, a sure sign that Hinata was doing better despite the anxiety gripping Kageyama’s chest. His pale cheeks had a bit of a glow to them again. His mouth was closed, no longer struggling to push out every breath. His hands rested, folded one atop the other, across his stomach. He looked truly at peace for the first time since everything had happened. And Kageyama leaned forward, pressing his hands into his eyes, and cried. He wailed. He sobbed and pounded at his own chest, letting every angry thought that he had buried towards both the driver in the accident and Miya Atsumu burst forth in one go. It felt incredible--a massive weight lifting off his shoulders. And as he came up for air and wiped his eyes, noticing with fondness the bruising that had blossomed on his wrist, he caught sight of Hinata’s hand dangling now off the edge of the bed again.

“Kageyama,” he said clearly, opening his eyes slowly after the name had left his mouth. “Don’t cry. You didn’t leave me, you kept your promise. I won’t leave you.”

“Shut up, idiot,” Kageyama sniffled and pressed his hands across his eyes again. “I’m not crying. You’re crying.”

And as he looked up again, Hinata _was_ crying. But he was smiling, too. 

***

The sight of Hinata’s smile had been almost too much for Kageyama to bear, so when Hinata’s mother and sister showed up minutes later, he had given the boy’s hand a quick squeeze before racing out of the room and beginning his trek home. He had claimed that Hinata should have time alone with his family, but in reality, he didn’t want to get so emotional in front of the boy.

A full two days later, a Sunday, Kageyama again entered the familiar waiting room of the hospital where Hinata was staying, finally able to come to terms with his emotions and put on some semblance of composure. He had struggled to sleep well in the nights since last seeing Hinata, but the rare moments when he received messages from Hinata were enough comfort to send him off to sleep for an hour or two. Kageyama yawned as he proceeded down the hall, balancing a coffee for Hinata’s mother as he went. It was still early in the morning, and with Kageyama not having any school today, he had been ambitious to spend as much time as possible at the hospital. 

He knocked lightly at the door to Hinata’s room before peering around the frame. Hinata was lying in bed, his head propped up with some extra pillows, as he chatted quietly with his mother. She had both hands clamped over his IV-fitted one, rubbing at his fingers. Kageyama blushed at the sight, recalling how he had done the same thing when he had felt how cold the sleeping Hinata’s hand had been before. _What am I, a mom?_ He shook his head to clear the memory away, then stepped into the room, where he noticed Natsu coloring at the table where the nurse had sat before.

“Tobio-nii-san!” Natsu screamed happily after noticing his shadow cross over her work. “I missed you!”

“Kageyama!” her brother said as enthusiastically as he could manage, struggling to sit up, then ultimately deciding to lean back again. “When did Natsu and you become so familiar?”

Natsu climbed down from her chair and scampered over to her mother’s lap, then leaned in close to her brother’s face. “Tobio-nii-san and I had a sleepover at our house the first night you were here, so mommy could have a sleepover here with you!”

Hinata’s eyes widened and he shot a surprised glance in Kageyama’s direction, to which Kageyama just shrugged his shoulders and carried on with the conversation. “Mrs. Hinata, I brought you a coffee.”

“Oh, thank you, Kageyama!” Hinata’s mother carefully plopped her daughter down on the edge of the bed and stood to take the drink as Kageyama approached. “Natsu, why don’t we go find a snack for you and let Shoyo and Kageyama chat for a while?”

“Actually, Mom,” Hinata lightly tapped her arm as she bent down to take Natsu’s hand. “Could you ask the nurse if it would be okay for me to get out of bed? I’m kinda going crazy stuck in here.” 

“Shoyo,” she stretched out his name disapprovingly as she spoke. “You are nowhere near ready to walk yet.”

“A wheelchair then?”

“I’d be happy to accompany him around the hospital, ma’am,” Kageyama interjected respectfully, earning an equally disapproving glance from Hinata’s mother.

“Oh, alright,” she sighed and left Natsu on the bed, gulping down her coffee as she left the room. Moments later she returned with Hinata’s nurse and the nurse who had pulled Kageyama away before. He was pushing a wheelchair. 

“Yes!” Hinata beamed. “Thanks, Mom!”

He threw back the sheets as Natsu jumped off the bed, and Kageyama moved out of the way as the two nurses wheeled the chair up to the side of the bed and lowered Hinata into it. Hinata’s nurse picked up the IV fluid bag from its perch above the bed and hung it from a small hook on the side of the wheelchair. She then swiped the extra blanket from the foot of the bed and folded it across Hinata’s legs. She and the other nurse stepped back and ushered Kageyama over to the wheelchair. 

“Have fun, and _be safe_ ,” Hinata’s mother said firmly. “We’re going to go search for a snack, so tell the staff when you come back, Shoyo.” 

Hinata nodded in reply, then craned his head upwards to look at Kageyama. “Come on!” he smiled widely. Kageyama couldn’t help but start laughing as he pushed Hinata out of the room and down the hall.

“This hospital has a small courtyard with a garden,” Kageyama spoke quietly as he watched Hinata gazing at the people passing by. “If you want to see some sunlight, let’s go there.”

They chatted simply as they moved, Kageyama asking questions mostly about what had occurred the last two days. A doctor had explained the extent of Hinata’s injuries to him after he had had a real night’s sleep. Then she had explained to him what the staff’s plans were for therapy and rehabilitation. Hinata grew very quiet as he explained.

“They won’t discharge me for another week, but they’re pushing to start physical therapy as soon as tomorrow. It’ll only be really light for now, until they know my body can handle it, and they said the real therapy will start later. I’ll have to come in for outpatient therapy, and I’ll be on crutches for a long time after I ‘level up’ from the wheelchair.” Hinata began to stare at his leg, its damage hidden under the checkered blanket across his lap.

“I bet it’ll go a lot faster than they’re expecting,” Kageyama said as reassuringly as he could manage as he pushed Hinata through the hospital doors, out into the garden. After a pause, he continued. “I don’t know if you remember me telling you this at all, you were still comatose, but Karasuno’s playing a scrimmage match with Nekoma on Saturday. If you’re discharged by then, I’ll come get you beforehand. Even if you can’t play, the guys would all love to see you. It might pump you up about recovery, too.” 

Hinata’s head was hung low, but Kageyama was just able to make out a half-smile forming. He couldn’t tell what Hinata was thinking, but at least he didn’t seem to be completely drowning in despair. Kageyama playfully messed up the fiery curls on top of Hinata’s head before pulling his wheelchair up beside a bench and sitting down next to him. For a moment, the two watched the small manmade waterfall before them as it flowed, silent. 

“Yachi-san called me this morning,” Kageyama suddenly said, glancing over to read Hinata’s face. “She said she was worried about you falling behind in school, so she got a bunch of things from your homeroom teacher and she wants to start coming to see you after practices with me. She says we can all have a ‘homework party,’ and she’s hoping to get Tsukishima and Yamaguchi in on it, too, but that’ll be tough.” He chuckled lightly, then let out a real laugh as he saw Hinata’s eyes light up.

“That would be really nice,” Hinata said quietly, his eyes beginning to get watery. He kept his gaze focused on the flowing water ahead of them.

“Then we’ll come right after practice tomorrow. Get some good sleep tonight, because you’re gonna need a lot of brain power!”

Hinata nodded enthusiastically, his nose sniffling a bit. Kageyama watched him a moment longer, picking up on the cracks in Hinata’s facade. Despite the color returning to his cheeks, his face overall still looked pale and tired, dark circles lining his eyes and his chapped lips betraying how ill he probably still felt. Kageyama wanted to say something, but as Hinata noticed him staring and turned his head to face him, no words came. A soft silence settled between the two boys, sending a tingling sensation down Kageyama’s spine, but it was broken quickly enough by the whooshing sound of the hospital’s automatic doors. Behind Hinata’s head, a crowd of people moved quickly through them.

“Guys!” Kageyama exclaimed surprisedly as he stood.

“Shoyo-kun!” Nishinoya led the pack, practically running over to Hinata as he whipped his head around to take in the sight. The whole team was there, Yachi and Shimizu included. The girls had even brought flowers. As they reached the two boys, Nishinoya swept Hinata’s head into a gentle hug and rested his own chin atop it, standing there for a moment with his eyes closed.

“What are you all doing here?” Kageyama asked after a moment, realizing that Hinata had hidden his face in Nishinoya’s arms and was too overwhelmed to speak.

“It’s a Sunday,” Sugawara explained, beaming brightly. “We all have the day off and nothing to do except visit Hinata. Why would we want to do anything else, anyway? We knew you were already here, so we decided to join you. When we went to Hinata’s room, the nurse told us you guys were out here.”

“Thank you for coming,” Hinata finally spoke from underneath Nishinoya’s arms. Nishinoya moved to pull back, but Hinata reached up and grasped his shirtsleeve, keeping him there. As he continued, his voice was high and shaky. “It’s really great to see all of you. I missed you guys.”

“Hinata?” Kageyama reached over and lightly touched the boy’s back. Hinata let out a long breath, then pulled out of Nishinoya’s arms. His cheeks were damp, and he ran an arm quickly over his face before raising his head with a smile so genuine that, to Kageyama, it was as if all the other times he had ever smiled had all been lies.

The girls were the first to approach him after that, Kageyama guessed because the boys were all unsure of how to proceed with Hinata’s fluctuating emotions. They had seen him anxious before, and of course they had seen him happy plenty of times, but it was a rare sight to see a teammate cry at the mere sight of his friends. The girls paid that awkwardness no attention, however, and they both knelt down and rested their flowers in his lap. Kageyama’s jaw dropped as Yachi even leaned forward and placed a light kiss on Hinata’s cheek, instantly turning his pale face beet red. 

“It’s so good to see you awake and well!” Yachi peeped as she sat back on her heels in front of Hinata’s knees. “I’m sure Kageyama told you, you’ll be seeing a lot of me in the next few days. If that’s okay with you.”

Hinata smiled and nodded, still not recovered enough to speak. His smile just kept getting bigger and bigger as the boys realized that emotions were nothing to be awkward about, each coming in turn to rustle his hair, carefully hug him, or kneel down in front of him and offer some words of encouragement. Kageyama sat quietly and took it all in, feeling a new sense of happiness swell within him as well, until the _bzz_ of his cell phone pulled him away from it all.

“Hinata, your mom just texted me. The nurse wants you back inside, you’ve been out here too long and it’s too cold for you.” He stood up and slipped the phone into his pocket, then offered an apologetic smile to the group. “She also said we all need to head home, they’re gonna give him another examination and stuff.”

“We can at least walk you back to your room,” Daichi said to Hinata as Kageyama took hold of the handles of the wheelchair. The crowd of high schoolers parted as Kageyama began to push Hinata back towards the hospital doors, then filed into a line as they followed. 

When they made it to the door of Hinata’s room, the same nurses from before were standing outside with Hinata’s mother. Kageyama turned over control of the wheelchair and stepped back to join the rest of the team. 

“See you tomorrow, Hinata.” Kageyama said, just managing to mask the disappointment in his voice. Yachi beside him nodded her head.

“I’ll be waiting!” Hinata beamed back, waving as he watched the group retreat down the hallway.

***

The week hurried by in a flash for Kageyama, who could barely focus during classes with all of the other things distracting him. He still tried his best at practices, as the Nekoma match was only a few days away, but his real focus was heading over to the hospital with Yachi afterwards.

The day after the whole group had visited was their first “homework party,” and Yachi _had_ managed to convince Tsukki and Yamaguchi to come, too. However, it had also been Hinata’s first day of physical therapy. He had only worked with the trainer, just standing, sitting, and testing how much weight he could bear on his leg, for about an hour in the early afternoon, but he was completely zonked out when his fellow first-years arrived. Tsukishima argued that they should turn around and head home, but a loud crash from Natsu spilling all of her crayons all over the floor scared Hinata out of his slumber and he insisted that they stay. Thus, the homework party commenced.

After that first day, Yachi was the only one who accompanied Kageyama to see Hinata after practice. Tsukishima fussed that it wasn’t right to make Hinata try to do all of this work that he hadn’t even been in class to learn how to do, while Yamaguchi tagged along after him when he ended the discussion. Tsukishima’s commentary _did_ wear on Kageyama a bit, but Hinata insisted that he would have to do the homework eventually, “so why not do it now?”

Late Friday evening, Yachi and Kageyama sat on either side of Hinata’s bed, their chairs drawn up close, as the three students poured over the textbook strewn across the cross-bed table the hospital staff had provided for Hinata to do his work. Hinata had been working to understand a particular English grammatical construction that Yachi was explaining to him, but Kageyama could almost see the confusion visibly dotting his face in the form of a knot at his temple.

“Let’s take a break,” he said slowly, eyeing Yachi. “Talk about some other stuff, and maybe come back to this before we head home for the night, ‘kay?”

Relief flooded Hinata’s face, and he leaned back against the pillows. “So… the Nekoma game is tomorrow, right? How’s practice been going?”

“It’s just a scrimmage!” Yachi exclaimed, confusion flashing across her face.

“I, uh…” Kageyama glanced at Hinata, “promised Hinata I’d take it seriously, like a real game, because I’ve been working really hard to grow as a player.” He scratched at the back of his head sheepishly. “I’m guessing you’re not going to be discharged in time for the game, then.”

Hinata let his gaze drop to the open textbook in front of him, then frowned and shook his head. “Physical therapy hasn’t been going as smoothly as I hoped. It’s really kinda kicked my butt, actually. I’m tired every day and I apparently have been getting dehydrated really easily, and the doc says my stitches could open up again if we push any more. I should have been off IV fluids a few days ago, but you can see how that’s going.” He looked glumly down at his hand, resting on his stomach, tape still tightly securing the needle under his skin.

“Do you still feel much pain?” Yachi asked quietly.

“It hurts a lot during therapy, but when I’m resting it’s more of a dull ache. It’s not as noticeable now as it was when I first woke up. They’ve been weaning me off of the painkillers this week, so… check in with me on that later.” He chuckled sadly.

A soft knock sounded at the door, and Hinata’s nurse stepped into the room.

“Good work today, homework crew, but I’m afraid visiting hours are coming to an end and Shoyo needs to go to sleep.” 

“Right,” Yachi and Kageyama replied simultaneously. They began gathering up their things and moving Hinata’s books over to the table at the other end of the room. Kageyama lingered for a moment at the doorway after Yachi had already waved goodbye and slipped out.

“I’ll come see you again on Sunday, but I’ll definitely text you after the match tomorrow. We’ll be thinking of you.”

“Right,” Hinata replied with a nod. “Good luck!”

Kageyama smiled back before hurrying out of the hospital and heading home, where he sat and chatted with his sister for a while before heading off to bed. 

His sleep was restless again, a terrible dream waking him as the lightest hints of sunrise streamed through his bedroom window. The gut-wrenching sound of Hinata’s scream as the car lodged the handlebar deeper into his body looped over and over again in his head before he was able to open his eyes. As Kageyama sat up and rubbed at his face, he couldn’t help but feel that the dream was some kind of bad omen. 

But as he walked into the Karasuno gym later that day, the rays of sunlight following him inside in golden tendrils, he caught sight of other members of the team huddled around the bench. As he got closer, a shock of fiery orange hair peeked through the arms of the players, and as Kageyama joined the group, Hinata turned to him from his spot on the bench, his smile as wide as ever. 

“Hey.”


	10. Nekoma and Karasuno

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata's appearance just minutes before the practice match with Nekoma is something that Kageyama was not expecting, and frankly, he has some mixed emotions to see the boy sitting in front of him. The other members of the team seem just as excited as Hinata is, so Kageyama must bury his conflict as he gets ready to play.

“Hinata?” Kageyama didn’t even notice as his bag slumped to the floor beside him, his mouth hanging open in shock. “What the hell are you doing here?”

Hinata wasn’t able to stifle his laughter as Kageyama looked him up and down, eyes wide in disbelief. He patted the crutches leaning against the bench beside him before explaining. “I convinced them to discharge me only a few hours ago. They said I wasn’t ready yet, but I told them there wasn’t anything they could do to stop me.”

“Don’t tell me you walked all the way here by yourself on that injured leg, with only a pair of crutches. You could hardly get around with a wheelchair only a few days ago.”

“Nope!” Hinata shook his head vigorously. “My mom picked me up from the hospital and dropped me off here. I haven’t really thought out how I’ll get home from here, but that’s a problem for later.” 

Kageyama couldn’t restrain himself from facepalming, but the other team members laughed just as lightheartedly as the crazy boy sitting before him. 

“Come on, Kageyama,” Nishinoya said as he stooped to pick up Kageyama’s fallen bag. “At least Hinata’s in good spirits. You should be, too! He’ll be able to watch us play after all!” 

Kageyama just shook his head as he followed the other players away from the bench and started warming up. Every so often, he would sneak a glance in Hinata’s direction and was surprised to find his eyes glued to him every time. A weird mixture of emotions was circling through Kageyama’s system: excitement for the match and for Hinata to be back with the team again (even just on the sidelines), anger at Hinata for taking such a huge health risk being there, and worry that something else could happen to him if he pushed himself too far. It wasn’t enough to distract him from his game preparation, however, because Hinata actively participated in critiquing his practice sets and serves and kept his head in the game, so to speak.

After about ten minutes of warm-up, Kageyama stopped on the far side of the court to get a drink of water and catch his breath. He glanced over to the bench, where Hinata was deep in conversation with Takeda-sensei, who looked eager to have someone to chat with while Ukai was out amongst the players giving feedback. Hinata looked up, feeling Kageyama’s stare, and offered a wave and a wide grin, but turned his head quickly as the door to the gym opened.

“Shoyo!” Kozume Kenma stood in the doorway, huffing after the exertion of running. Kageyama leaned to the side and was able to see the rest of the Nekoma team moving behind him at a slower pace. Kenma locked eyes with Hinata and broke into a run again, skidding to a stop just next to the bench as the other members of his team began to enter the gym. 

“Hey, Kenma!” Hinata looked up at him with a huge smile.

“Don’t just ‘hey’ me, Shoyo!” Kenma said as he plopped down on the bench and took Hinata’s hands within his own. “Coach Nekomata told the team about what happened to you when Coach Ukai called to set up the practice match. I wanted to come and visit, but he said I would only get in the way.” He fell silent after catching sight of the crutches at Hinata’s side.

“That’s okay, I understand,” Hinata spoke slowly as he watched Kenma’s eyes trailing down. “I’m just glad to see you now... I don’t know if he told you guys how serious it all was, but I can’t play volleyball for a while. I won’t be joining the match today.” 

Kenma’s face fell, but there wasn’t even a hint of surprise. “It won’t be as fun without you on the other side of the net. Since we met, I’ve been trying to enjoy playing more, but it’s hard.”

Hinata remained silent, seemingly unsure of what to say to raise Kenma’s spirits. 

“I’ve never seen Kenma so emotional,” Kuroo Tetsuro whispered as he crossed the court to approach Kageyama and a few other Karasuno players. “I’m sure you all have had it worse. Our coach told us Hinata was in a coma, is that true?”

Kageyama nodded solemnly as his gaze returned to Kenma clutching Hinata’s hands tightly. “He’s only really been awake for a week. He should still be in the hospital, but he’s too stubborn.”

Kuroo pulled him to the side, away from the other players. “Look, I know Hinata and Kenma are the closest among our two teams, but I still consider us friends. Are you okay? You look a little out-of-it…”

“Just tired, I guess,” Kageyama mumbled, refusing to meet the Nekoma captain’s eyes. “I was there when he woke up, and it was… jarring, to say the least. I’ve been having nightmares about him recently and it’s hard to tell myself they’re just dreams when I know so much has happened to him.”

Kageyama didn’t know why he was admitting all this to a Nekoma player. He hadn’t mentioned it to any of the Karasuno players, especially not Hinata. Maybe it helped that Kuroo wasn’t around all the time, and wouldn't be there to worry about him constantly. Maybe it was just in his nature to be supportive to the people around him. Before Kuroo could offer any sort of supportive response, though, a shout from Coach Ukai caught the boys’ attention. 

“Karasuno players,” Ukai began as he stood at the edge of the court with Nekoma’s coach Nekomata. “Clear off the court and do some more stretching. Nekoma’s got the court for warm-up for the next ten minutes.” 

Kageyama offered a short wave to Kuroo as he headed back towards the bench, watching as Kenma reluctantly released Hinata’s hands and stood. As Kageyama sat down on the ground near Hinata’s feet and started working on his stretches, he caught the conclusion of their conversation. 

“Do your best today, Kenma! I’ll be back out there before you know it, and I want to see how much you’ve grown when I face you on the other side of the net again.”

“Mhm!” Kenma nodded, a flash of enthusiasm returning to his face amidst all of the sadness that hung there. He turned and ran over to the Nekoma bench and began preparing to head out onto the court. 

“How are you feeling?” Kageyama asked as Hinata fixed his eyes ahead of him again. “Does being here make you feel angry that you can’t go out there and play against him?”

“I mean, sure it does, a little,” Hinata looked down at him and began to lean forward, then stiffened and straightened up with a grimace. After a moment of silence, he spoke again. “I know that I have to be responsible and take care of my body, though, so what’s the point of being angry about something I can’t control? It would be awesome to be out on the court again, but I’m just gonna have to trust that you’ve grown as much as you told me you would and you and the guys can kick Nekoma’s butts without me, just this once.” He flicked his eyes down to meet Kageyama’s again and smiled. “Oh, and your form is a little loose. Straighten out or you’re not gonna get a good stretch.”

“Hinata, idiot!” Kageyama laughed as he turned to watch the Nekoma players warming up, following Hinata’s advice as he went. “Don’t change the subject to avoid talking about it,” he mumbled, but Hinata ignored him. 

Several minutes later, the match was well underway and Hinata was doing his best to cheer like crazy from his spot next to Takeda on the sidelines. Kageyama was on the court with Azumane Asahi, Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Sawamura Daichi, Nishinoya Yuu and Tsukishima Kei. Kenma and Kuroo were starters on the other side as well, so Hinata was going wild and yelling at the Karasuno side to go after them as much as Ukai would let him. 

Karasuno was racking up points quickly, garnering generous cheers from Hinata, but a missed dig from Nishinoya gave the serving advantage to Nekoma. Kuroo was up to serve and decided to aim in Nishinoya’s direction again, hoping to use his previous stumble to Nekoma’s advantage. But Nishinoya had already learned from his mistake, and received the ball with ease and grace before passing it to Kageyama. Kageyama set it to Asahi, who spiked it hard over the net with speed. Everyone believed it would be a surefire point for Karasuno yet again, but Yaku Morisuke, Nekoma’s libero, flopped across the court to receive the ball and send it off to Kenma. Seeing no opening in front of him, Kenma set the ball behind his head, where the Nekoma ace, Yamamoto Taketora, was waiting with excitement. His hand slammed into the ball with immense pressure, sending it sailing over the net and across the court in a powerful cross-shot play. There was no hope for any of the Karasuno players to be able to receive such a powerful hit, and they quickly realized that there was no need to anyway, as the ball was sailing out of court-range. What the players didn’t realize quickly enough, however, was that receiving the ball  _ would _ still be necessary.

As the ball sailed towards him, Hinata sat completely paralyzed, sweat dripping down his forehead. It loomed larger and larger in his field of vision until it was all-encompassing, but his arms and legs didn’t move an inch. Kageyama was the farthest one away from him, but he ran with all his strength, panic causing heat to lick ferociously at his ears and build up in his cheeks.

“Dodge, idiot!” Kageyama screamed, but Hinata made no move to follow his orders. His skin was white and his eyes were wide, his arms limp at his sides. Time seemed to be moving slowly for Kageyama, allowing him to process all of this but not allowing him the speed to get to the boy in time. He felt his legs lift from the ground as he unthinkingly released his body into a full-on-belly-flopping jump, knowing he would never land close enough to protect the boy, and he screamed in anguish as his stomach made contact with the hard gymnasium floor.

But as he looked up, hearing the hard thud of ball making contact with body, relief flooded over Kageyama’s now bruised body. The ball fell to the ground and bounced before rolling towards the Nekoma side of the court, revealing Takeda’s shoulder in the space where Hinata’s face had been seconds before. He had leapt forward quickly enough to shield the boy, pressing Hinata’s face against his chest and tucking his arm protectively around the top of Hinata’s head. 

As Takeda pulled back, Kageyama scrambled to his feet and ran over to the bench. He kneeled down in front of Hinata as his face came back into view. He was clutching at his stomach with a deep scowl set into his face, as Takeda had twisted his body to the side in his haste to protect the boy and it had obviously caused him some incredible pain.

“Hinata,” Kageyama gasped as both teams began to gather behind him. “Are you okay?”

“S-sorry, Tak-keda-s-sensei,” Hinata said quietly, his voice quivering. His body was trembling, and as Kageyama placed a hand over Hinata’s hands, still pressed to his stomach, he felt the burning heat of panic radiating from the boy’s skin. “I saw the ball coming, but I--I just couldn’t move. I don’t know why.”

“It’s quite alright, Hinata. I’m fine, and you’re okay, so that’s all that matters.” Takeda said as he rubbed lightly at his shoulder. 

“Are you okay, Hinata?” Kageyama echoed again, his hand still pressed over Hinata’s own.

Hinata nodded slowly, color starting to return to his face. “I don’t know why... “ he said again. “I’ve never reacted to a ball like that before…”

“I don’t blame you, Hinata,” Ukai said as he came around the side of the bench and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been through a lot in the last few weeks. I mean, a volleyball to the face is kinda what started it all. it’s only natural that you may have developed some trauma, if you want to give it a name.”

A shadow seemed to cross over Hinata’s face, and it looked as if he was trying to fight tears from forming. “I don’t want to fear the sport I love,” he said quietly. 

“Do you want to go home? I can take you,” Takeda said, leaning forward. “I apologize if I caused you any pain. It might be best for you to go home if that is the case…”

“No,” Hinata murmured a bit more firmly this time, pushing Kageyama’s hand away from his stomach. “I’d like to stay, if that’s okay. I don’t  _ want _ to feel this way, so I want to stay.”

Takeda, Ukai, and Nekomata, standing a few paces away, all looked at each other, glancing back and forth in silence, before Ukai ultimately decided to be the one to speak.

“Are you sure, Hinata? We can’t always control where the ball goes. This might happen again.”

“Mmm,” Hinata nodded. “I’ll expect it from now on. I’ll be prepared.”

As the players began standing up and spreading out to resume the match, Taketora scrambled forward and knelt down next to Kageyama. He took Hinata’s hands and rested them atop his knees. “Hinata-kun! I’m so sorry! I can’t believe I lost control of the ball like that and put you in danger.”

“It’s okay, I know it was an accident. I need to work through some stuff, emotionally, I guess, so please don’t blame yourself.”

Taketora hung his head low for a moment, then nodded and released Hinata’s hands. He stood and bowed slightly before returning to the court, where Kenma stood watching Hinata carefully. Hinata waved at Kenma and put on his best smile, but the worry on Kenma’s face only seemed to deepen. Hinata sighed before slipping his gaze down to the floor, where he noticed Kageyama was still squatting in front of him. 

“What are you doing? Get back on the court.”

“Sugawara!” Kageyama called out while locking eyes with Hinata. “I’m done for today, you’re in for me. If you don’t mind.”

“What?!” Hinata exclaimed, his mouth dropping open. “You guys haven’t even finished the first set yet!”

Kageyama rose and sat down on Hinata’s other side, pressing against his arm in the small amount of space available at the edge of the bench. “I’m gonna sit here with you. I felt things out with how I played so far. I’ve definitely improved, but that’s not what’s most important right now. You are. Takeda-sensei probably doesn’t want to have to block another ball again, am I right, sensei?”

“Ahaha, um, yes, actually,” Takeda laughed sheepishly from his seat on Hinata’s other side. “I’m not the rough-and-tough sort. I bruise easily.”

“See?” Kageyama smirked. “Count on me if there’s another ball incoming. Plus, I’m going to make you work through these issues of yours right here and now.” His smirk stretched into a mischievous smile. 

“What… does that mean?” Hinata asked with trepidation. 

“It means… WAHHH!!!” Kageyama suddenly leaned forward and raised his arms, causing Hinata to jump and lean away from him, bumping into Takeda’s arm. After the horror had flashed across Hinata’s face and disappeared again, Kageyama continued. “I’m going to keep you on your toes so you get used to it again.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to do to a guy in recovery,” Hinata grumbled as he rubbed at his stomach again, shifting his eyes to watch as play resumed. 

“I’m kidding,” Kageyama grunted, but he kept a close eye on Hinata as the rest of the match proceeded, feeling every brush of Hinata’s arm against his own as a ball sailing across the court made him jump, or watching his eyes widen as the out balls weren’t gone for. Halfway through the second set, Kageyama couldn’t fight it any longer. He leaned backward and slipped his arm behind Hinata’s back, then began rubbing soft circles. “Dude,” he stammered quietly as heat rose to his cheeks, “don’t make this a long-term thing, okay?” 

Hinata didn’t say anything, but his body relaxed as soon as Kageyama’s hand had rested on his back for a moment. He let out a long sigh, as if realizing how much anxiety had been flowing through his body and he was now willing it all to flow out with that breath. Kageyama kept his hand there for the rest of the match, starting up the rubbing again each time any tenseness or agitation crept back into Hinata’s muscles.

As everyone began piling off of the court at the match’s end, Karasuno having taken both sets with Nekoma putting up a valiant fight, Hinata turned carefully to Kageyama and whispered softly, “Thank you. I didn’t know I needed that… I never knew how important just being able to reach out and touch someone was until I was alone in that forest… alone in that hospital room…” He said nothing more, his eyes taking on a sort of faraway look before snapping back to normal as players began to congregate around the bench. 

As Hinata smiled and began to congratulate the players, Kageyama leaned forward and shielded his eyes from view of the others. He could feel tears welling up, thinking again of the dreams that had been plaguing him, of Hinata’s scream as the car pressed forward against the tree, his pain and disorientation as he had awoken in Kageyama’s arms weeks later, and now the scar all of that had left so visibly on Hinata’s psyche. Hinata was forever changed and there was nothing Kageyama could do about it, and the pressure welling up inside him at that realization was too much to bear. As everyone chatted, packed up and started leaving the gym, Kageyama sat there next to Hinata with his eyes covered, hot tears carving wet tracks down his face, until he, Hinata and the coaches were the last ones left in the gym.

“Text me more often, Shoyo. I want to know how you’re doing,” Kenma said from the door before waving and heading out. 

“Well,” Takeda stood up and stretched. “I need to head home and grade some papers. I’m sure you both have things to tend to as well, Ukai, Nekomata. Hinata, can we help you get home?”

“I’m gonna walk, actually,” Hinata beamed, and Kageyama shot up.

“No, you are not,” Kageyama said forcefully as he looked away from the boy, trying to buy himself time to wipe his eyes before any of them could see. “Please tell me you aren’t that stupid.”

“I am, though,” Hinata giggled. He patted the crutches at his side. “Just kidding. I’m not. But I am walking. With these, I should be able to make it home no problem. I need to work on using crutches to get around anyway.”

“What would your mom say, if she knew you were planning this? She would never have let you come in the first place!” That seemed to hit a soft spot with Hinata, and his smile disappeared.

“Fine,” he replied softly. “I’ll take the bus. But I’m walking to the bus stop, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”

Kageyama found himself actually facepalming for the second time that day, and noticed the three adults in the room exchange worried glances as well. 

“I’d be happy to give you a lift there, Hinata, really,” Takeda said skeptically, but Hinata just shook his head in response.

“I’ll come with you then, sheesh.” Kageyama said, and stood. “Your mom would kill me if she found out that I had the chance to offer that and passed it up. And you can’t say no to me because I’m stronger than you at the moment and will literally carry you if you give me any trouble.”

That set the three adults into fits of laughter, so much so that they couldn’t even calm themselves to say goodbye before exiting the gym. They just waved as they left, leaving an agitated Kageyama alone with Hinata, who still hadn’t attempted to leave his spot on the bench.

“If you can’t even stand up there’s no way I’m letting you get yourself to the bus stop.”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” Hinata laughed and waved Kageyama off, but his face took on a grave expression as he looked down at the crutches beside him. He picked them up and set one on either side of him, then scooted forward until his butt was on the edge of the bench. Kageyama moved forward and took hold of Hinata’s elbows without even asking first if Hinata needed help, and essentially did most of the work hoisting Hinata up as he placed all of his body weight on his uninjured leg. As he got the crutches placed firmly on the ground, Kageyama backed away.

“Feeling good so far?” Hinata nodded. “Okay, then let’s go.” 

Kageyama stooped down and grabbed his bag from the floor, then waited as Hinata moved the crutches forward and hopped on his good foot to align his body with them. A slight flinch of pain shot across his face as he moved, but he kept silent as he made up the space to match pace with Kageyama. They moved slowly as they exited the gym and traveled towards the school’s main gate. Hinata was already breathing hard as they crossed over to the sidewalk outside.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yeah, this is good,” Hinata huffed. “I feel like I’m getting a good workout in for the first time in a while.”

Kageyama just shook his head as he checked his pace to make sure he didn’t move too fast for Hinata. It was complete insanity that this boy was hopping around on crutches only a week after waking up and having his stitches rip open, with only a few physical therapy sessions under his belt to boot. He was getting paler and paler with every step they took, and the sweat on his forehead was reaching waterfall status.

“There’s a bench over there. Do you want to take a break?”

“If we take breaks it’ll take forever to get anywhere, Kageyama.”

They were almost at the street corner nearest to the school, which meant they still had another block and a half until they would get to the nearest bus stop. Kageyama didn’t mind the slow going at all, but he was getting increasingly concerned that Hinata had been overly ambitious with his plan and it was due to catch up with him at any moment. 

“I really think we should…”

Hinata just kept going, even picking up the pace as he began to cross the street. He seemed to be getting used to the feeling of walking with crutches, even appearing to become accustomed to the pain that was likely coursing across his stomach and lower back as the force of repeatedly making contact with the ground traveled upwards through his body. 

A small flicker of pride began to grow in Kageyama as he watched Hinata setting out before him, challenging everything that was holding him back in the way that he had done so often before everything happened. It was like the trembling, scared boy that everyone had witnessed in the gym was just a front, like he had been switched out with a fake, and the real Hinata was returning to them now. But that only lasted a second more.

“Woah!” Hinata called out as first one, and then the other crutch fell out of his grasp and toppled to the ground. One crutch had become stuck on the edge of an unlevel piece of cement in the sidewalk and had sent Hinata careening off-balance. All reason seemed to leave Hinata’s head as he panicked and tried to balance himself, forgetting that his leg was just as badly injured as his torso. The leg went down, a cry of pain resounded, and Hinata began to crumple to the ground.

Kageyama didn’t even waste the brain power to call out this time, instead acting as quickly as possible to protect Hinata. He raced forward and scooped the boy out of the air just seconds before his head would have hit the concrete, then got on his knees and gently laid Hinata’s head across them. The pain must have been tremendous, more unbearable than even the pain in Hinata’s stomach had been during the match, because the boy was out cold in Kageyama’s arms. 

“Hey, Hinata,” he bent over and said close to the boy’s ear, tapping at his cheek as he spoke. He kept going to distract himself from his own anxiety. “Man, what an idiot. You should not have been discharged today. Add this to the list of things you’ve done that are killing me.”

Kageyama stared at the boy, waiting another moment for him to come around, but there was no change. His mouth hung open loosely, his eyelids open just the slightest bit to reveal that his eyes had rolled back. A bit of sense finally returned as Kageyama racked his brain for what to do, and he pulled up the leg of Hinata’s sweatpants to check the stitches for any rips. But that wound was still bandaged up, and no blood appeared to be seeping through the white cloth, so he replaced the pants leg and lifted up the hem of Hinata’s shirt to check his stomach. Kageyama was expecting to see a similar sight, but he was met instead with Hinata’s bare skin. The scar that ran across his lower left side was long and thick, somewhat-healed in some places, large stretches of irritated skin and fresh stitches evident in others. He ran his hand over the wound quickly, just to make sure everything was still sealed tight, then lifted Hinata’s head up to his shoulder and ran his hand along his back to check there. That wound, too, was unbandaged, but no new stitching had been added there when Hinata had woken up.

Kageyama moved Hinata’s head back down and cradled it against his forearm, then sat transfixed by the scar across his stomach. The idea of calling for an ambulance, for Hinata’s mother, or even for any of the adults that were probably not too far away from the school didn’t cross his mind as long as he kept staring at the scar. Kageyama sat with his hand hovering inches away from Hinata’s stomach, unable to process a single thought. 

“Uh… what are you doing?” Kageyama jumped as Hinata’s voice rang into his ear, and he scooped the boy into a hug before he had even thought through how to react. “Seriously… what are you doing?” 

“Taking care of your stupid ass,” Kageyama said into the top of Hinata’s head, then pulled away, pretending not to notice the bewildered expression on Hinata’s face, and tugged his shirt back down. He grabbed Hinata by the hand and pulled him with caution into a sitting position. “Sorry, this probably looks really weird from your perspective… I was just making sure your stitches didn’t reopen.”

“Oh, thanks.” Hinata glanced down at his stomach. “Pretty nasty looking, right?”

“It’s not too bad. It’ll keep healing.”

“The one on my leg is even worse. I can probably never wear shorts again without freaking out little kids.”

“Don’t be a pessimist, Hinata. It really doesn’t suit you. I’m sure all of your stitches will heal up just fine, and if they scar, hell, you’ll look like a badass and people will stop calling you  _ chibi- _ chan.” Kageyama tried to be lighthearted with the boy, but Hinata just shot him a tired look. He then swiveled his head around to peer at the street around them and brought his hand up to rub at the back of it. 

“You caught me before I hit the ground?”

“You remember what happened?”

“I think I tripped.”

“Yeah, idiot. That’s what you get for being cocky and going so fast. You’re gonna have a long road to recovery, so please don’t make it even longer by trying to rush it.”

“Right.”

“I’m gonna have to go home with you every day, once you start coming to class again, aren’t I?” Kageyama grumbled as he collected Hinata’s crutches, distracting himself from the thumping of his heartbeat as relief over the return of Hinata’s consciousness allowed it to slowly return to normal. “You’re gonna kill yourself by accident if I’m not there.”

“That’s not true!” Hinata laughed as Kageyama handed the crutches to him. He put them down on either side of him and began lining them up to try to return to a standing position, but Kageyama placed his hands over Hinata’s.

“Nuh-uh. I gave those back to you so you could  _ carry  _ them. Because I’m carrying you. No way you’re walking again, at least not today.”

He wrestled the crutches out of Hinata’s grip and stacked them together, then shoved them into Hinata’s arms despite his complaining. Then he squatted down and placed one hand behind Hinata’s back, the other underneath his knees, and lifted him into the air. 

“You literally are carrying me, like you threatened back in the gym. This is so humiliating,” Hinata grunted between clenched teeth as his leg twitched.

“Less humiliating than passing out in the middle of the sidewalk,” Kageyama jabbed back. “Now, keep an eye on those crutches. I don’t want to get smacked in the face.” 

As soon as the words had left his mouth, he was playfully struck across the face.

“You did that to yourself,” Hinata giggled, but Kageyama managed to keep a straight face as he began walking again. 

“How’s the pain? Your leg is probably really hurting, right?” 

“Oh, it’s fine,” Hinata said simply. But within minutes all of the bubbly energy he had after he had come to was gone. He rested the crutches across his chest and let his head fall onto Kageyama’s shoulder, all pretense of taking charge of his own recovery gone. In the silence between the two boys as Kageyama continued on, he gazed lifelessly back at the path they had tread. 


	11. Facades and Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kageyama finds himself awake in bed after returning home from taking Hinata back to his house, the events of their walk home having a stronger effect on him than he had previously realized. The emotional strain is almost unbearable for Kageyama, and Hinata's reluctance to be vulnerable with him following his fainting makes Kageyama question Hinata's emotional state as well.

Kageyama screamed as he jerked into a sitting position, the soft moonlight streaming through his bedroom window bringing him back to full realization of where he was. He wiped tears away from his hot cheeks and did his best to wipe at the sweat beading on his forehead as his breathing returned to normal. 

“Another messed up dream,” he groaned as he let his head fall onto the pillow again. He kicked off the blankets and let his body acclimate to the cold night air in the room, images from the dream he had had racing across his eyes again. 

Though the dream had shaken the boy to his core, he couldn’t recall exactly what had happened. He could only remember that it had been an amalgamation of all of the terrible things that had happened to Hinata over the past weeks, just like all of his dreams had been lately. But in his dreams, everything was even worse. Every moment of pain for Hinata was heightened in Kageyama’s dreams, and this one had even pulled the earlier events of that day into the mix. His collapse had taken on a different form in Kageyama’s mind, ripping open all of his stitches and spreading dark red blood all over the gray sidewalk, Hinata’s body completely motionless, Kageyama reaching out to him only to find that he was eternally too far away to touch him. And worst of all, as Kageyama was watching helplessly, the same damn car that had haunted his dreams every night for weeks rounded the corner and spun out of control, slamming onto the sidewalk and driving over Hinata’s body. The sight of Hinata’s face, bashed in and unrecognizable, had been what sent Kageyama screaming into consciousness. 

That image was the only thing that stuck in his mind as he stared at the ceiling above him, and he knew trying to fall asleep again would be impossible for tonight. So Kageyama rolled over and scooped his cell phone off of the bedside table. He began scrolling mindlessly through the apps on his phone, looking for something to keep his mind off of his dream. This was the first time he had dreamed of Hinata’s death, however, and this technique that he had come to rely on in the last few days wasn’t working one bit. He glanced at the top of his phone screen and groaned to see that the time read 1:42 a.m. 

Not knowing what else to do, Kageyama found himself drawn to the social media app that a lot of the guys on the team tended to use, which he usually avoided. It had been months since he last logged onto it, so he was caught off guard to see his face pop up at the top of his dashboard. It was a post from Sugawara, the day they had all shown up at the hospital when he had been with Hinata in the hospital courtyard. It was a simple shot of Kageyama talking with Hinata, only the back of Hinata’s head visible while Kageyama’s expression was fully visible. The look of shock from seeing the team coming through the hospital doors was clearly visible on his face, and Kageyama felt a blush rising in his cheeks as he realized how dumbfounded he had looked. He scrolled down to read a simple caption, “The weirdo duo is back, everyone!” There were likes and comments from the team, of course, but also from Karasuno’s girls’ team, Kenma and Kuroo, Bokuto, and members of many other teams they had competed against over the season so far.

Kageyama rolled onto his side and brought his blanket up under his chin as he stared at the photo a moment more, recalling the tired, pained expression on Hinata’s face and the silence that had fallen between them just before the team had arrived. Images of Hinata from his dream flashed before his eyes again, and he buried his head under the blanket to try to hide from them. 

“Get out of my head,” he mumbled, then found himself reaching for his phone again and going to Hinata’s profile. 

The last picture he had posted was over two months old, a silly shot of him and Tanaka standing victoriously in front of an elaborate prank they had set up for Nishinoya. Before he knew what he was doing, Kageyama began to scroll through all of Hinata’s pictures, doing what he could to replace the painful images with ones of joy. After some time had gone by, he reached the first picture Hinata had ever posted--a week after joining the Karasuno team. It was a selfie, Hinata beaming outside the door of the gym with the back of Kageyama’s head in a corner of the photo. The caption read, “My name is Hinata Shoyo, and I’m a first year at Karasuno! I’m going to become the next Little Giant, but only if I can get this guy behind me to set to me! The challenge starts now!!!”

Kageyama was instantly transported back to those first few weeks, when he and Hinata had been completely at odds with each other but had had to work together in order to show Daichi they were capable of playing on the team. It had been completely vexing at the time, but now it brought a smile to Kageyama’s face. He scrolled back to the top of Hinata’s profile page and noticed that it was now 2:37a.m. This little rabbit hole had definitely made the time go by quickly, so he decided to attempt sleep again. Before shutting off his phone, though, Kageyama noticed a little green dot next to Hinata’s profile picture, indicating that he was online.

_ This late? Idiot! _

Kageyama sat up in bed and stared at the little green dot for a moment more, then felt his fingers moving without really processing the action in his brain. Before he knew it, he was holding the phone to his ear and listening to the dial-tone starting up. A moment later, Hinata’s voice picked up in a soft whisper.

“Hello… Kageyama?”

“Hinata--” Kageyama’s voice seemed to catch in his throat, but he coughed and went on. “Why are you whispering?”

“Natsu is sleeping on the floor in my room, I don’t want to wake her.”

“Oh, then I should go--”

“Hang on, I can move to the living room. Just give me a few minutes.”

“Hinata, no--”

But Hinata had already pulled his cell phone away from his ear to fumble for his crutches, leaning against his nightstand. Kageyama waited in silence, his heart pounding louder and louder with each passing second that he didn’t hear Hinata’s voice on the other end of the line. He was only able to relax a little as he heard the soft creaking of Hinata’s bedroom door. Another few minutes passed, and a louder “what’s up?” slammed into Kageyama’s ear.

“Are you sitting down?”

“Yes, yes, I’m all good. Why did you call me at like three a.m.? Is everything okay?”

“I couldn’t sleep, so I was just on my phone and I saw you were online too. I was wondering why you were still awake.”

“Same problem here,” Hinata chuckled forcefully. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

“Nah, I’m alright. What about you?”

Kageyama paused for a moment, images from the dream flashing before his eyes again. The small glimpse of joy he had received from looking at all of Hinata’s photos was quickly fading. 

“I… Everything that has happened has really… scared me, Hinata. Especially what happened today. You kept telling me you were fine after you collapsed on the sidewalk, but I could tell how tired and defeated you felt. You didn’t talk at all on the bus or from the bus stop all the way back to your house. I get it, I’m not asking you to pretend you’re okay when you’re not, but don’t lie. Talk to me about it. Please.”

“Kageyama… the same goes for you,” Hinata’s voice sounded the slightest bit shaky over the phone. “I can tell something is wrong on your side of all this, too. You’ve never been one to show your emotions, so having this conversation with you in the middle of the night is really sort of bizarre.” He tried to offer a laugh again, but it was strained with tension.

“You want honesty?” Kageyama spoke softly, then waited for a response from Hinata. But the boy didn’t speak. Kageyama cleared his throat and gripped at his blankets tightly. “Okay… I’ve been lying in bed for the past hour unable to sleep because I woke up from a dream that ended with watching your head get bashed in. And I’ve had dreams like this almost every night since you were first in the hospital… But none were as bad as tonight.”

Hinata was silent for a long time, but Kageyama could hear the cadence of his breathing, a sharp intake as he had heard Kageyama’s words and then a gradual steadying as they sat in silence. 

“Maybe I haven’t been myself,” Kageyama continued. “Maybe I’ve been too emotional, too harsh on you for pushing yourself and too controlling when I think you’re overdoing it, but I’m going insane here. So just let me freak out and don’t hide that you are, too. You were a mess when you woke up, Hinata, and I’ve been a mess since then, so you don’t have to pretend like you got over that. Don’t apologize when you can’t handle something, like you did in the gym today.”

The cadence of Hinata’s breathing changed again, and Kageyama heard him begin to sniffle. “Okay,” he said, and Kageyama realized that the boy was crying. He didn’t speak again for a long time, the tears turning into sobs before the sound of them grew distant, a soft thump signaling that the phone was likely out of Hinata’s hands. Kageyama felt anger folding itself into a knot in his stomach, he wanted so desperately to be there in person with Hinata and make him feel that he wasn’t alone, but he just sat frozen in place in his own bed and waited.

Many moments later, a soft series of rustling noises resounded and a small “sorry” came through the phone.

“Thank you for listening to what I needed to say,” Kageyama replied. “Don’t apologize.”

“Right,” Hinata sniffled.

“So it’s your turn now. Tell me how you’ve been feeling, the truth.”

“I guess I’ll come out and say I’ve been having dreams, too,” Hinata laughed awkwardly between his tears, sounding weirdly more genuine than he had in a long time. “It’s usually just the accident over and over again, but it happens in different places--home, school, the court. A car just comes flying out of nowhere and hits me. I’m usually with people, but they all disappear as soon as the headlights shine in my direction. I always wake up right before it makes impact, but the memory is enough for me to feel the pain all over again when I’m awake.”

“What else?”

“What do you mean?”

“What about when you’re not dreaming?”

“I’m… scared all the time. I know what you meant, when you said you were. Today was really freaky for me, too. I just tried really hard to make everything go back to normal as fast as possible, but it’s not going to happen that way, is it? And what I said, about being afraid of volleyball now, that  _ was  _ genuine. It’s tearing me apart, but I’m afraid of volleyball now. It was just a bump on the head in that game against Inarizaki, but it terrifies me. What if it was my fault that I got hit by the car, because I was already shaky on my feet? It could happen to me again. It could happen to  _ you. _ ”

“Thinking like that and acting like nothing’s wrong are pulling you in two opposite directions, Hinata. No wonder you’re exhausted. Sure, people get injured in matches all the time, but the series of events that happened to you is not something that will happen to everyone. It’s totally valid for you to feel that way, and I’m glad you’re telling me, but don’t worry about me when you have so much to deal with already. Think rationally.”

“You sound a little more like yourself now,” Hinata said warmly, seemingly calmer. He stifled a yawn, causing Kageyama to glance over at the alarm clock on his bedside table.

“Oi, it’s almost four a.m. We should both try to go to sleep. You especially, your body needs sleep to heal faster.”

“I don’t think I can,” Hinata spoke in almost a whisper. Then he groaned. “Plus I have to hop all the way back to bed.”

“Just sleep on the couch, if it’s comfortable enough. I’m sure Natsu won’t be offended. Are there blankets around?” Kageyama grimaced at the thought of Hinata moving around the room in search of blankets.

“I carried my comforter out here with me!” Hinata replied happily over the phone, only causing Kageyama to grimace even further at the thought of how close Hinata had probably been to tripping while balancing such a heavy blanket on crutches.

“Idiot,” he said under his breath. 

“But seriously, Kageyama, just the thought of closing my eyes is giving me shivers.” Hinata’s tone had become serious again, and Kageyama silently admitted that he, too, shared the same apprehension despite his tiredness.

“Okay, let’s just keep talking until one of us falls asleep, then. About stupid, pointless shit. Like how many cracks you can count in the ceiling or something.” 

“I count three,” Hinata replied as soft shuffling noises indicated that he was lying down on the couch. Kageyama rested his head on his pillow and put his phone on speaker, laying it down on the pillow close to his head. 

“I’m not turning on my light to look at my ceiling, but my guess is zero. You should get your ceiling fixed.” 

He heard the soft click of what seemed to be Hinata turning off a lamp beside him. “Do you have blinds on your bedroom window?” Hinata asked before stifling another yawn.

“Yeah, they’re open. The moon is almost full tonight. I already know there aren’t any blinds on the windows in your living room.”

“ _ Creepy.  _ How did you know?” 

“I slept in there when I was taking care of your sister.”

“Oh…” Another yawn. “Right.”

“Um… Oh, is the couch comfortable enough?”

All Kageyama got in response was soft, barely audible breathing. He smiled.

“Goodnight, Hinata,” he whispered before rolling over to end the call. But as he tapped the phone screen and it lit up to reveal all of the call buttons, a thought occurred to Kageyama.

_ Maybe I should just let the call go, in case he wakes up after a dream or something and needs to talk… or if I do.  _

Kageyama rolled back onto his back and pressed his face closer to the phone beside him, then closed his eyes and tried to eliminate all the thoughts that continued to swirl around in his head, centering his mind as best as he could on the soft up-and-down of Hinata’s breathing. It was a strange experience to attempt to fall asleep to the sound of another person sleeping, but it was better than being alone. He was in dreamland within minutes.

Hours later, Kageyama was jolted awake not by a haunting dream, but by the soft whisper of a woman’s voice in his ear.

“Shoyo, sweetie, what are you doing out here on the couch? You should be in bed.” He stared up at the ceiling as sunlight poured into his room, soft rustlings from the phone beside him recentering him as he became more alert. “That’s better,” Hinata’s mother came through the phone again, more rustlings coming as she tucked Hinata’s comforter around him, now in his own bed. Another rustle, and her voice was much closer. “Wow. A five hour call? With Kageyama? Why didn’t either of them hang up?”

With a small click, Kageyama sighed as Hinata’s mother ended the call. At least Hinata was still sleeping soundly, surrounded by the family who loved him, not alone anymore. Kageyama dug under the covers again and closed his eyes, reassured that maybe he could get a little bit more sleep on his own with that thought resting easy in his mind. 

***

Kageyama had spent much of that Sunday morning in bed, but awoke around noon to a text message from Hinata thanking him for helping him to fall asleep, and also apologizing that his mother had found the phone still on the call and had hung it up. 

“No bad dreams this time, what about you?” a second message had delivered right after the first one.

Kageyama hadn’t had a bad dream this time. As a matter of fact, he hadn’t even dreamed at all. His sleep had been deep and restful, something that he hadn’t experienced for weeks. He spent the rest of that day in conversation with Hinata over text message, doing his best to generate the same kind of openness that he had pried out of the boy the night before, as he went about his tasks around the house. Hinata stayed in bed the whole day, but did his best to catch up on homework. Every so often he would pepper in a few academic questions amidst their conversation about when Hinata would be starting outpatient therapy and various other topics. 

When the doctors were informed of that Saturday’s events a few days later at Hinata’s first outpatient therapy session, he was banned from spectating any Karasuno practices until he was well enough to attend classes again. He called at the beginning of practice to let everyone know, barely concealing the disappointment in his voice, but Kageyama quickly came up with a solution to the dilemma. On the days when his therapy didn’t overlap with their practice times, the two managers would take turns video chatting with Hinata so that he could still watch and offer encouragement. On the days when he was at the hospital while they were practicing, Kageyama would occasionally record clips of spikes, sets, and receives that individual players were working on and text them to Hinata later on. This carried on for a few weeks, Kageyama and the others only really getting to see Hinata in person on Sundays, when he had the day off from therapy and they had the day off from school and practice. Everyone would usually end up at Hinata’s place, either packed into his room or crowded around his living room, as they helped him catch up on the piles of homework he had left to finish. 

The day finally came when Hinata had the all-clear to return to school. He still had a long way to go before he could walk without crutches, but he was at least able to momentarily put weight on his bad leg without horrific pain in the event that he dropped a crutch, and walking with crutches in-and-of-itself wasn’t so painful. Kageyama still didn’t want to take any chances though, so he rang the doorbell in front of Hinata’s house bright and early that Monday morning.

“Tobio-nii-san!” Natsu beamed brightly when she answered the door. “What are you doing here!”

“I’m here to walk you and your brother to school!”

“Yay! Nii-chan!!” Natsu turned and shouted down the hall towards the open door of Hinata’s room, out of which he came hopping with his crutches, dressed in something other than sweatpants for the first time in what seemed like forever. 

“Kageyama?”

“I never thought I’d be excited to see you in a school uniform.”

“That was… weird.” Hinata’s cheeks flushed as he began hopping down the hall, much more smoothly than the last time Kageyama had seen him actively using crutches. 

“Stop making it weird, idiot. I was just getting tired of seeing you dressed like a shut-in, is all.”

Hinata frowned slightly before carefully stepping down into the genkan on his stronger leg, doing his best to move quickly as Natsu pushed behind him. He sat down on the edge and reached for his shoes by the small shoe shelf in the corner, but Natsu began to hiss.

“Nii-chan! You told me I could do it for you! You promised I could be the one to put on your shoes for you on your first day at school.”

“Yeah, but that was before Kageyama showed up,” Hinata sighed with a look halfway between exasperation and amusement on his face. 

“Nii-chan!”

“Fine.” 

Hinata leaned back on his palms as Natsu clambered down and brought Hinata’s shoes over to him, then started the process of shoving them onto his feet and tying them up. Kageyama was shocked to see how gentle she was with Hinata’s injured leg, moving slowly and with the grace of someone much older than she was. As soon as she was finished, Kageyama extended his hand and pulled Hinata to his feet just as carefully.

“Ready, you two?” 

Both of the fiery-headed humans before him nodded vigorously, their smiles wide. As they headed out onto the open street ahead of them, Kageyama stayed as close to Hinata as he dared, the boy’s little sister clinging onto Kageyama’s hand between them. 

“There was morning practice today,” Hinata said suddenly after a few moments of silence. “Why didn’t you go?”

“I couldn’t go to practice with enough time to make it to your place, too. I can’t trust you to get Natsu-chan to school in the sorry state you’re in, can I?” He beamed down at the girl, who giggled back.

After a lot more silent walking, with a bit of hopping on Hinata’s part, they had safely arrived at Natsu’s elementary school. She raised her arms in Kageyama’s direction once they got to the gate, and once he had scooped her up, she leaned over and placed a quick kiss on her brother’s cheek. 

“I love you, Nii-chan! See you after school. Do your best!” 

Once Kageyama had put the girl down and walked her over to the front door of the school, he returned to the gate to find tears rimming Hinata’s eyes.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m working on that honesty thing, still, so don’t make fun of me, ‘kay?”

Kageyama nodded silently as he followed Hinata’s hopping.

“I just haven’t really thought about what Natsu felt about all this, until now. It kinda hit me when she said ‘do your best.’ She’s probably been in a lot of pain, too. Much more than a kid her age should ever have to experience.”

Kageyama’s mind instantly was taken back to all of the words Natsu had said to him while he had taken care of her, words that seemed to present a girl many years beyond her age in wisdom.

“She’s tougher than you give her credit for, Hinata. She kinda reminded me of a lot of important things when I should have been doing that for her. She’s your sister and you know her a hell of a lot better than I do, but I know that at least.”

Hinata smiled weakly as he focused his attention on his feet and the crutches moving before him, but kept silent. He turned the corner, then stopped as Kageyama froze.

“Are we going that way?”

“Yes. It’s the only way  _ to  _ go, Kageyama.”

“What about the bus?”

“We’d have to go the opposite direction to find the nearest bus stop, plus the route is too long to make it to class on time now that we’ve taken the time to drop Natsu off. It’s fine, Kageyama. I’m a big boy.” Hinata laughed, and the confidence behind it almost made Kageyama believe him.

Kageyama relented though, and the two carried on in silence. Hinata began to work a little harder as the concrete beneath them elevated, his body taking on a worn-out weight as they crested the top of the hill. Kageyama instinctively moved to walk between Hinata and the road, shielding Hinata’s eyes from the hole in the railing across the street that still hadn’t been repaired. He kept his eyes on Hinata, who was beginning to look pale not from tiredness, as he was still moving fairly quickly, but from being painfully conscious of the landscape they were walking through at that moment. Not a word was spoken between the two of them.

Many long minutes later, once Kageyama had accompanied Hinata into his own classroom and to his desk, Hinata collapsed in an exhausted slump. Kageyama resisted the urge to say anything to the boy as his classmates began to congregate around them, instead choosing to squeeze his shoulder lightly before retreating from the crowd and heading for the hallway and his own classroom.

“Shoyo-kun, you’re back!”

“We missed you, Hinata-kun!”

“How are you feeling?”

“Who was that guy who just walked in with you?”

Kageyama tried to tune out all of the voices of Hinata’s classmates as he imagined the suffocating weight they were pressing over Hinata. Just as he slipped out of the room, he turned to see Hinata lift his head and put on a huge smile. 

“He’s my friend, Kageyama. He’s a first-year from another class. Don’t any of you know him?” Kageyama did his best to listen from outside the doorway as some of the girls looked back at the door. “I’m just fine, by the way! Just a few scratches. What did I miss while I was gone?”

Kageyama turned and shook his head vigorously at Hinata’s sudden change, like turning on a happiness switch. “Why didn’t any of you visit him?” he mumbled under his breath as he trudged towards his own classroom.

***

Hinata had insisted that Kageyama keep his coming back to school secret from the rest of the team to avoid fuss, so when the two had walked (and hopped) into the gym later that day, the boys had been ecstatic. Nishinoya and Yamaguchi were both in tears, making remarks similar to Kageyama’s own about how good it was to see Hinata in a school uniform again. Takeda-sensei had insisted Hinata sit next to him on the bench again, and this time Yachi sat glued to the spot on his other side. Hinata was still a bit fidgety around the edge of the court, so Yachi distracted him by helping him out with the work that he  _ still  _ hadn’t caught up on. Even when Shimizu asked her for help with things around the gym, it took her a moment to realize that someone was calling her name. 

As the days passed and Hinata’s list of uncompleted assignments slowly dwindled, he seemed to ease into being in the gym more and more. Even when balls seemed to fly in his direction, he wouldn’t get pulled away from his work so easily and wouldn’t jump so much, confident that Takeda was watching out for him as he had promised on the first day. Kageyama also walked him home every day and talked through the events of that practice with him, not only going over what the team had accomplished, but what Hinata himself had accomplished in his emotional recovery. Kageyama could tell that at first Hinata had been very hesitant to drop the facade that he had been steadily building with his classmates during school hours, but he kept pushing at the boy to remember their late night conversation about honesty, which made him cave pretty quickly, and eventually their afternoon walks home became spaces of vulnerability as soon as they were out of the Karasuno main gates. 

One day in particular, about two weeks after returning to school, Hinata was the first to bring something personal up. They had just turned onto the sidewalk outside of the school gates, heading towards the hill that Hinata still remained utterly silent while traversing each day despite Kageyama’s attempts at distraction. 

“So, my mom got a letter yesterday from the guy who was driving the car,” Hinata spoke quietly, shifting his weight around as he was still getting used to walking with now one crutch instead of two. He was still attending therapy, later in the evenings now and only a few times a week, and was making tremendous progress. “She said that he came to apologize or something when I was still in a coma, and he ended up being kind of an asshole to both her and you.”

“Yeah, that’s an understatement,” Kageyama mumbled gruffly.

“Well, he apologized formally in the letter, and said he wanted to talk to me in person. He said he was happy to hear that I was doing better. I wonder how he found out.”

“That nurse probably told him. She was a little too lenient with him from the beginning.”

“I’m sure she was just trying to be nice, but I guess I wouldn’t know.” Hinata looked down at the crutch at his side. “Anyway… he said in the letter that he was originally mad because he had thought the whole thing was my fault. He remembered seeing me sort of fall off my bike and tried to swerve to avoid hitting me, but lost control of his car.”

“That’s his excuse?!” Kageyama glared at Hinata, rage fuming under the surface. “Do you believe him?! You mentioned feeling at fault when we talked on the phone that one night…”

“Maybe that’s what happened… I don’t remember anything before reaching the top of the hill. But there’s no use getting mad about it now, Kageyama! He admitted that he was at fault, regardless of the context.”

“He’s just trying to cover his ass so your mom doesn’t sue him. She should.”

“I don’t want her to. We already talked about it.”

Kageyama just shook his head and looked down at his feet, amazed at Hinata’s attitude. His kindness was one thing that could never be taken away from him, and Kageyama couldn’t fight the resulting feeling of happiness that lingered in his chest despite his anger at the situation. 

“So I am going to meet with him. I asked my mom to invite him over for dinner tonight.” 

“You’re hosting this guy? Providing a meal for him? What has he done for you besides scar you and your family both literally and emotionally?”

“If the scars are gonna heal, we need to talk.” Hinata stopped as he reached the bottom of the hill, then, to Kageyama’s surprise, continued to speak as he began his trek upwards. “I didn’t get the chance to talk to him in person before, but my mom said he sounded different in his letter. She’s hopeful. So I will be, too.”

“Why are you telling me all this?”

“In case you wanted to be there, to accept his apology to you specifically, to forgive him. You’re walking me home anyway, so you’ll already be at my house.”

Kageyama was the one who remained silent this time as they crested the hill, but as they began to walk down the other side, Hinata having ignored the hole in the railing altogether, he finally spoke up. “Let me think about it.”

A few hours later, he found himself sitting at a low table in the Hinata household dining room, next to Natsu, staring directly into the face of the man who had smashed Hinata and his bike into a tree with his car. Hinata sat on the side of the table between Kageyama and the man, across from his mother’s seat. She was bringing plates in from the kitchen, the rest of the group silent as she worked. She had again refused to let Kageyama, or Sato, the driver, help in any way. 

“Please, Sato-san, help yourself,” Hinata’s mother said as she finally joined the group at the table. 

Kageyama just stared at Hinata’s face as the man began to collect small helpings of the dishes his mother had prepared. Hinata seemed pale and a little timid, and hadn’t spoken anything more than a “Hello” when the man had entered their home. Kageyama hadn’t said anything himself, and besides the glint of surprise in his eyes to see Kageyama there, Sato hadn’t said anything back. 

The dinner proceeded uneventfully, everyone eating in silence, even the charismatic Natsu keeping silent and staring exclusively at her plate. Only when every person had put down their chopsticks did the man clear his throat to speak.

“Thank you for inviting me here tonight,” he said shakily, nodding in turn to each person he addressed. “Hinata-san, Shoyo-san, I would like to start by apologizing deeply for what I did to you.”

Hinata visibly stiffened as Sato pulled back from the table and touched his head to the floor in a bow in Hinata’s direction. “It’s oka--”

“It is not.” Sato said, his face still pressed to the floor. “Not only did I seriously harm you, and threaten your life at that, but I got off with only a scratch and treated the whole experience as an inconvenience. I disrespected the incredible weight of the situation and the stress it placed on your mother, as well as your friends.”

He lifted his head from the floor and returned to his original position, then locked eyes with Kageyama across the table, bowing this time in his direction. “Kageyama-san. I understand that you have done a great deal to make sure that Shoyo-san is here with his family today, and I have been a roadblock in your mission to care for your friend. There is no way I can attempt to apologize for being so selfish, but I will try anyway. Please understand my regret and my shame, even if you do not accept it.”

“He’s the one who really matters,” Kageyama nodded his head in Hinata’s direction, “and you just cut him off. I know you mean well, but you did.”

A look of horror crossed the man’s face as he sat up again, and he moved quickly back to look at Hinata. “He’s completely right. I’m so sorry, Shoyo-san. Even in my attempt to atone, I’m repeating the same behavior all over again. I haven’t heard you speak more than three words to me since I stole so much away from you, and yet I keep stealing…”

Hinata was leaning backwards, the intensity of Sato’s eyes on him seeming to overwhelm him a bit. It was hard for Kageyama to read anything behind the boy’s eyes, but a new sort of light seemed to ignite behind them after a moment.

“Just now,” he began as if he hadn’t spoken in days, a scratching, painful crack coming out with his words which slowly dissipated as he continued on. “I remembered something about the accident. Because of your eyes, I think. I remember seeing your eyes behind the windshield. Wild. Panicked. Completely at a loss, and deeply scared. I don’t remember anything else but that. So I forgive you.” At the end of his words, Hinata squished his face into a wide smile, and the man in front of him let his head collapse into his hands.

Everyone in the room remained silent as the man began to weep softly, and Kageyama gripped Hinata’s wrist under the table. When his eyes turned to meet Kageyama’s, he offered the boy a firm nod. He didn’t know why, or what about Hinata’s actions had changed his own mind, but the anger was melting away, and he wanted Hinata to know that. 

Sato stayed only a few minutes longer, too overcome with emotion to properly hold a conversation anymore, but he thanked and apologized profusely to Hinata again at the door. The interaction had taken its own toll on Hinata as well, and he fell asleep on the couch only twenty minutes later, in the middle of watching a national volleyball game with Kageyama and Natsu. Kageyama carried him to bed before helping his mother clean up the dishes, and slipped out the door. The night air greeted him differently this time than all the others, washing over him with a newfound sense of calmness. Things were finally starting to go right. 

***

Three weeks later, Kageyama was sitting on the floor of the Karasuno gym, stretching with a few other early-arrivers to practice. Hinata had taken to walking the long way to practice every day to work on strengthening his leg, leaving Kageyama no option but to go on without him in order to be there on time. It irked Kageyama to no avail to leave Hinata alone, but he was proud that Hinata was pushing himself, safely, to even walk short distances without using the crutch. 

Kageyama kept waiting for Hinata to walk in, but was torn away from watching the door as Ukai ordered everyone to start up a light warm-up jog around the court. Every time the door was visible as he ran around, Kageyama kept his eyes glued to it. Soon enough, the jog was over and they were circling up in front of the bench.

_ It never takes Hinata this long to walk here, no matter what route he chooses.  _ Kageyama eyed the door again as he sat down on the ground and took a swig of water.  _ Something’s not right… _

“Coach,” he spoke up before Ukai could begin going over the plan for the day. “Hinata should be--”

“Hinata!” Sugawara shouted from behind Kageyama, and Kageyama jerked his head violently towards the door of the gym.

Hinata was walking into the gym, full weight equally distributed on both legs, his crutch slung over one shoulder like a baseball bat. He wore the white t-shirt and black shorts Karasuno players donned at every practice, as well as his gym shoes. He stopped a few paces into the gym and locked eyes with Kageyama. The long, thick, white scar that marred his leg was clearly visible, even making the muscles in his thigh and calf look slightly misshapen, but he was standing tall and smiling. 

“I think it’s time, guys!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fanfic Tumblr: beccerslynnfics  
> Main Tumblr: beccerslynn97
> 
> (Follow me to receive chapter updates here! Should've been including this since chapter one, sorry folks)


	12. On the Bench Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata has decided that he's ready to step onto the court again! How will the rest of the team react as the final chapter unfolds?

There was silence in the gym as the team took in first Hinata’s wide grin, then the scar running the length of his leg. Hinata kept his confident stance, but his expression began to falter as others began to exchange looks.

“You guys don’t think I’m ready?”

“That’s not it,” Kageyama quickly retorted as he scrambled to his feet. He glanced over his shoulder at the other boys, unsure of the expressions on their faces, as he jogged over to Hinata. “This is just the first time any of them have actually seen your scar. I think it freaked them out a little--not because it’s gross or anything, but because they can actually see the pain you went through now. I kinda felt the same way the first time I saw the one on your stomach,” he whispered quietly into Hinata’s ear. 

Hinata turned to Kageyama and let his face break out into a wide smile--definitely not what he was expecting. As he met Kageyama’s eyes, he shouted loudly, “Alright, who wants to touch it?”

The team members around the gym began to laugh, a little more at ease with how Hinata was embracing the situation. Hinata made his way over to the bench and sat down, Kageyama in tow, and swung his leg up next to him, offering a playful wave of his hands as if to say, “Come, now’s the chance to look at this horrible, yet transfixing new beauty mark.” 

Some of the boys played along, crowding around the bench and poking at Hinata’s leg or running their fingers over the texturized patch of skin where the stitches had healed the gash. The girls kept their distance, but Coach Ukai joined the mass quickly.

“If anyone should actually look at your scar, it’s me,” he stated in a deeply serious tone. “I’ll decide if you can really play again or not. Do you at least have a note granting permission from your doctor?” 

At Hinata’s sheepish shake of the head, Ukai frowned deeply but proceeded to inspect him anyway. He grabbed Hinata by the ankle and raised his leg into the air, then sat down on the bench and propped Hinata’s leg across his lap. The team tried to hide their chuckles again as they watched him lean over and intently examine each inch of Hinata’s scar, pressing down in certain areas to gauge Hinata’s reaction and look for any areas that were still painful. After a few moments and a curt nod, he released Hinata’s leg and Hinata lowered it to the floor.

“Now,” Ukai turned to face him and continued. “Let me see the one on your stomach. That one gave you a lot of trouble before, so I’m more worried about that.”

Hinata seemed to hesitate for a moment, and Kageyama thought back to the day he had collapsed on their way home. Hinata had mentioned his leg looking a lot worse than his stomach, but looking at it fully-healed now, Kageyama wasn’t so sure. Hinata hadn’t needed a second round of stitches in his leg or back, so his leg looked decent, all things considered. A strong look from Ukai finally got Hinata moving, and he lifted up the hem of his shirt just barely. 

“Come on, Hinata, I can’t see a damn thing,” Ukai growled softly, at the same time placing a hand on the boy’s shoulder. 

Hinata stiffened at his touch, but reluctantly pulled his shirt up so that his entire midriff was exposed. Yamaguchi, one of the more queasy of the bunch, was the first to let out a quiet gasp at the sight of the jagged scar, and Hinata’s cheeks flushed a bright pink. Kageyama pulled Yamaguchi away from the coach and gathered the rest of the boys in a small circle.

“Let’s give them some space and start practicing. Ukai will let us know when he’s ready.” 

As Yamaguchi mumbled a quiet apology and jogged onto the court with some of the other boys, Kageyama glanced back towards Hinata. Ukai was squatting in front of Hinata, poking and prodding at his stomach in much the same way he had done to the boy’s leg, but there was a stronger look of concern on his face this time. Had Hinata not reopened his stitches upon waking up, Ukai might have cleared him to practice right away. But the patches of skin that were more freshly healed, the stitches removed more recently, were still sore spots for Hinata and he was having trouble hiding it. Those spots were also much more textured and stretched across his muscles in messier ways, as the hospital staff had raced to sew Hinata up again without taking him to the operating room and going through proper channels. Ukai sat back on his heels and opened his mouth, but Hinata beat him to speaking.

“Please,” he begged as he dropped his shirt and began to wring it in his hands. “It’s been _months._ I’ve been healing for months and I’m fine now. I want to play so badly. I want to feel normal again.”

Ukai turned away from Hinata’s pleading face, unable to stand looking into his eyes, and then noticed Kageyama watching, standing at the edge of the court. With a sigh, he dropped his head into his hands, paused, and then stood up.

“Without a doctor’s note, I… Ugh… I hope I don’t regret this. You can work on getting used to moving around out there again. _No_ attacking _. No_ jumping _at all._ I would prefer it if you didn’t receive anything either, because that’s the likeliest way you’ll get hit. And go _slow._ ”

“Then what does that leave me?”

“For now, just work on tossing the ball lightly with someone else.” Hinata frowned, but Ukai smiled at him. “This is your chance to prove to me that you can handle more at tomorrow’s practice… Anybody up for tossing with Hinata?”

All play on the court stopped as nearly every player raised a hand, Tsukishima being the only one to show his usual disinterest. Ukai seemed a bit overwhelmed by the high volume of hands before his eyes, but Daichi quickly stepped forward and joined Kageyama at the edge of the court. 

“Hinata, I’d like to talk to you one-on-one as your captain. Would you mind tossing with me?”

“Sure!” Hinata beamed as he stood up from the bench, then glanced at Ukai for approval. Ukai nodded, barely managing to conceal his admiration for Hinata’s spirit underneath his stern exterior, then waved the two over to the side of the gym before going over to supervise the other players out on the court. Daichi waved a hand at Yachi, who was hovering near the ball basket, and she threw him a ball. 

It was a very relaxed practice, as Ukai kept noticing the boys glancing over at Daichi and Hinata and decided not to push them too hard, so Kageyama found his eyes wandering over to the pair often. Daichi started off slow, much slower than his average pace, and carefully watched how Hinata chased after each ball. Hinata was very stiff and lacked much of the speed he used to have, but it didn’t seem to bother him. His smile was wide and there was a sparkle in his eyes that reminded Kageyama of how excited Hinata had been in the first few weeks of their time at Karasuno. Soon enough, Hinata was drenched in sweat and missing more balls than he was tossing back to Daichi, so Ukai gestured for him to take a break on the bench. 

“How’d it feel to practice a bit?” Kageyama jogged over and sat down beside Hinata as he began chugging water.

After a few long gulps, Hinata gave a refreshed gasp and leaned back, resting his hands on the back edge of the bench. “Absolutely wonderful,” he breathed quietly. “My leg is throbbing and I’ve got a stitch in my side, but it feels incredible anyway.”

“You’re such a volleyball nerd,” Kageyama remarked, letting out a relieved chuckle. “Why did Sawamura-san want to talk to you?”

“He asked what my personal goals were,” Hinata said as he straightened out and looked at Kageyama. “He wants to do what he can to help me get there as fast as possible, and rejoin the rest of you properly soon. He said it’s his responsibility and pleasure as captain to work with each of us, and he’s taking that more seriously now than he ever has before.”

“Yeah, I’ll say so,” Kageyama laughed, letting his eyes trail over to where Daichi was talking with Suga and Asahi, informing them of Hinata’s work and asking for tips on how to help him improve quickly, but safely. “So… are you done for today, or good to keep going? I have some painkillers in my bag if you need something.”

Hinata squished his eyes and smiled mischievously at Kageyama. “Are you looking out for me, Tobio-kyuuun?”

“No!” Kageyama felt heat burning in his cheeks. “I just keep them in case I get a headache or something, geez. What are you calling me by my first name for?”

“Oh, just to make you uncomfortable,” Hinata snickered before Kageyama shoved at his face annoyedly. He stood up and glared at the cackling boy.

“I’m gonna pretend that didn’t happen and go back to practicing. Do you want anything or not?”

“Nah, I think I reached my limit for today. I don’t _feel_ like I did, but my mom would probably tell me otherwise if she were here. I don’t want to push myself too far, too fast and end up backtracking.”

“Good choice,” Kageyama nodded as he began to walk back towards the court. He snuck one more glance back at Hinata before stepping back over the foul line and saw that he was leaning back on his hands again, eyes closed and face lifted up towards the ceiling. Sweat was trailing down his temples, but he seemed completely at ease. 

A knock at the open gym door quickly caused the peacefulness that Hinata seemed to be bathed in to disappear, as he jumped out of his skin at the sound of it. Kageyama saw the figure cross the threshold before Hinata had even turned his head, and he was charging back in Hinata’s direction.

“Kageyama, what’s wrong?!” Hinata stood up, a grimace flashing across his face as dull pain quickly shot through his system. He clutched onto Kageyama’s hand as he whizzed past, almost toppling over onto Kageyama as the black-haired boy slowed to a stop.

“Miya Atsumu!” Kageyama snarled, and Hinata followed his gaze to where the Inarizaki player stood frozen in the doorway. Without waiting for an explanation for the boy’s presence, Kageyama stepped in front of Hinata and snapped a curt “Get out.”

The sound of balls thumping onto the court reverberated through Kageyama’s ears as the rest of the team took notice of the standoff, and Ukai and Takeda both began moving quickly to reach Kageyama before he himself started moving. 

“Miya-san, welcome to Karasuno,” Ukai said as cooly as he could muster as he stopped next to Kageyama. “Can I ask why you’re here?”

The other Karasuno players and the managers clustered around the group at the bench and stared daggers into Atsumu at the doorway. Kageyama glanced back to see that Hinata’s eyes were wide with caution, but he seemed simply wary rather than scared. Yachi had wormed her way through the group and stood beside him, a sense of fear clearly present in her eyes. 

“I was hoping to talk to Shoyo-kun,” Atsumu said with his usual confidence as he walked a few paces into the room. Kageyama’s hand instinctively shot out to wrap around Hinata’s wrist, and he yanked the boy even further behind him.

“Don’t be so defensive, Tobio-kun, I won’t hurt the poor kid! I heard he’s been through quite a lot recently, and that’s why I’m here.” Atsumu tilted his head as he stepped closer, attempting to look Hinata directly in the eye over Kageyama’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to interrupt all of you. Just go back to practice, and we’ll step outside for a moment. Okay, Shoyo-kun?”

“That’s fine,” Hinata said calmly, stepping out of Kageyama’s shadow and prying his fingers off of his wrist. Kageyama made an attempt to tighten his grip, but Hinata stared at him until he let his hand drop. He began walking forward, and Atsumu turned to face the door while he waited for him to approach, his hands resting in the pockets of his jacket. 

Kageyama glared harshly at the coach beside him as the boys began walking towards the door of the gym, and when the coach noticed his eyes on him, Kageyama jutted his head towards Hinata in an attempt to get Ukai to manage the situation somehow. 

Just as the boys exited the gym, Ukai hissed back, “It’s Hinata’s choice if he wants to talk to him, not mine! Just because I’m his coach does not mean I control his life!”

“You do during practice!”

“Oh, is that how you see it?!”

“Ukai-san!” Takeda whisper-shouted, separating the two with a quick stab at the air between them. “You may be right that Hinata makes his own choices, but aren’t you a little nervous for him? Shouldn’t someone be out there with him? He’s always pushing himself too much lately, and talking to Miya Atsumu might be one of those moments...”

“I’m just a volleyball coach, Takeda. I’m going to stick to what I do, and you all can make your own choices. If anyone wants to actually practice, I’ll be on the court.” He began to storm back to the court, leaving the players in a confused huddle, unsure if they should follow or go outside. Ukai stopped, noticing that no one was moving, and said over his shoulder, “Kageyama, the window behind the bench is open. That’s all I’m saying.”

The students all stared at each other for a moment, while Takeda sighed and facepalmed. Then, in a whirlwind of motion, everyone descended on the bench and began pushing it up against the wall. They turned on Kageyama, but he was already moving, climbing up onto the bench and pressing his body against the wall. He peeked his head over the lip of the small window as the others retreated back to the court. It would be too quiet for Hinata not to be suspicious if no one was playing, so the spying fell to Kageyama alone.

As the sound of feet moving and balls bouncing started up again behind Kageyama, he peered through the glass to catch sight of Miya Atsumu leaning up against one of the pillars of the walkway to the main school building. Hinata was standing a few paces away from him, watching him carefully as he shifted his weight around. Kageyama could tell that he had been on his feet too long today, the pain was getting to him. 

“Miya-san, what do you want?” Hinata was the first to speak, and his voice seemed quiet and timid from this distance. 

Atsumu, as confident and loud as ever, leaned forward and began to speak. “I hope this doesn’t change the way you view me, Shoyo-kun, but I’m about to do something I rarely do.” His voice seemed to break on the last word, and his body quickly swept forward into a bow, causing Kageyama to jump back from the window in surprise. He pressed his face close again as Atsumu resumed talking, his voice several levels shakier than it had been moments before. 

“I know I apologized once for injuring you during that game we played, but that wasn’t genuine. I’m here to do it again. When I heard what happened to you afterwards, I couldn’t help but feel that I was part of it. That I had caused this additional burden on you. I never meant to harm you, to take you away from the sport that I know you love just as much as I do, maybe even more. You’re an amazing player, one that I always enjoy playing against and watching. I can never decide what you’re thinking or explain how you move on the court, and I felt that especially in the last game we played. I was frustrated… so frustrated, with myself, for not being able to get a handle on how you play volleyball, especially as a duo with Kageyama. Your whole team was playing incredibly, and I couldn’t stand that I was losing. So I targeted you. I wanted to see your resolve, how you’d deal with the pressure of rallying after taking such an intense serve, but I underestimated my own frustration and how it played into the strength I put behind the serve. I went way overboard, and when I realized that, I couldn’t accept that I’d messed up. I treated your teammates coldly when they were concerned for you, and I didn’t know how to face you properly when I came to apologize. I acted stupid and rude because I was ashamed of myself. I had too much pride.

“Then a few weeks later I heard that your team pulled out of a tournament we had also entered. I had been ruminating over what had happened, and I wanted to give you a more honest apology there. When I heard, I asked my coach to find out why. He got some information from Nekoma’s coach, enough for me to learn what had happened to you and that you were comatose. I… I couldn’t believe it. But I knew I needed to see you. I went to the hospital once, but Kageyama was asleep at your bedside, and it didn’t feel like a genuine apology to you anyway if you couldn’t reply. I ended up just asking my coach to keep checking in with Nekoma’s coach for updates. He told me last week that you’ve been back at school for a little while, but after so much time... I couldn’t work up the nerve to face you. I’m dragging this on, sorry... I just wanted to say that I deeply apologize and regret what I did, and what followed after. I know it caused you so much more harm than I’ll ever understand.”

He straightened up but kept his head lowered, refusing to meet Hinata’s eyes. “I know it’s too much for me to ask this of you, but I look forward to the day you’re well enough to play in a match again. I hope I’m on the team that gets the privilege to face off against you, so I can face you honestly and make up for what I’ve done.”

Kageyama ignored the heat he felt in his own face as he searched Hinata’s face for some kind of emotional response. It was hard to read the boy’s expression from the angle Kageyama was looking, but Hinata’s words were enough to let Kageyama know what he was feeling. A wall was going up, which meant he was hurting.

“Wow... they really pulled out of a tournament because of me? Nobody said anything…” Hinata chuckled sadly, staring at the ground. He kicked at some small pebbles beneath his feet. “I really have been such a burden to the team. I’ve taken all the fun out of volleyball for them, haven’t I?”

Atsumu didn’t move to offer any sort of response, but Kageyama got the feeling that Hinata hadn’t really been searching for an answer. He already believed something in his heart.

“Well,” Hinata said after a moment of silence. “Thank you for coming here to apologize. It really means a lot. Please don’t carry the weight around anymore, okay? I can see it hanging off you, like, almost literally.”

Atsumu smirked, then nodded. “Let’s keep in touch from now on, Shoyo-kun. I’d like to hear how things are going as you get back into playing.” He lifted his head and finally allowed himself to look at Hinata. “I’ll do my best to move past what I’ve been feeling, but you try, too.”

Hinata nodded in return, and Atsumu stared at him for a moment before shifting his weight away from the pillar and heading towards the school’s main gates. 

“It wasn’t your fault, Miya-san, what happened to me after our match.” Atsumu stopped at Hinata’s words, but didn’t turn around. His shielded face remained directed towards the ground, but he balled his hands into fists and his shoulders began to tremble. Hinata spoke again as he stared at Atsumu’s back. “I’m still trying to figure out the reason for all this, but it wasn’t you.” 

Atsumu nodded without a word, and started walking again. Kageyama stuck to his spot at the window, not sure if he should join Hinata or just let him be, but before he could make his decision, Hinata slumped to the ground and wrapped his arms around his knees. Atsumu was already long out-of-earshot, so Hinata pressed his face against his knees and began to sob. Kageyama pulled away from the window to go out and meet the boy, but Hinata began to speak through his tears in the softest whisper, stopping Kageyama in his tracks. 

“What’s the matter with me? Making everyone around me feel so guilty… They’re tiptoeing around me like I might shatter at the next second. How can they continue to be so selfless, when I’ve taken so much from them? Miya-san blames himself, all the Karasuno guys won’t take volleyball seriously anymore ‘cuz they’re watching out for me, and Kageyama… I’ve hurt him so much… If I had just died in that accident they all would have kept going and… and met… all of their goals by now…”

_If he had just died… we would have_ kept going _?_ Kageyama’s thoughts reverberated through his skull like gunfire. He backed hastily away from the window, just barely catching himself from teetering off the edge of the bench he was standing on. He could feel the tears coming, and every face in the gym was staring at him as he scrambled down from the bench. 

“Kageyama?” 

Nishinoya began to approach as he noticed the panic stretch across Kageyama’s face, but he was ignored and shoved away as Kageyama scanned the room for another sign of exit. He kept his head low as he began to move, an icy wall building between him and the other players as he quickly made his way to the only open door he saw: the storage closet. 

Kageyama only caught a glimpse of the many concerned faces behind him as he crept inside the dark room and shut the door behind him. In the silence of his solitude, Kageyama slid down, his back against the door, and crumpled into a heap amongst the netting, scoreboards, and various types of athletic equipment inside. 

“Tobio-kun?” Nishinoya’s voice sounded again through the door, along with a few soft knocks. 

Kageyama ignored every sound that came from the other side of the door, pressing his hands over his ears, as he silently let tears begin to cover his cheeks. He lay down with his back to the door, coldness pressing into his body from the hardwood floor. Soon enough, Nishinoya’s voice was gone and he was truly alone.

_Hinata was right,_ Kageyama screamed in his head. _He did hurt me. He’s hurting me so much right now, believing that bullshit lie he made up in his own head. We’d be better off without him?_ I _would be? No, you idiot! I might care a lot about volleyball, but it’s just a game! It can’t replace the people I care about! It’s the team, not the game! It’s you._

Kageyama let out an audible scream, then punched at a basketball that had come to rest near his face. As the ball bounced away, he covered his face with his hands and tried to control his breathing. The anger was suffocating him, the utter disbelief that Hinata could feel that way about himself, could believe that Kageyama cared for him less than a simple sport, crushing his lungs. He felt like he was drowning, the pain like the most unimaginably cold water he had ever swallowed. He was completely engulfed in his own mind, and didn’t even register the slow creaking of the door opening, a soft light shining into the room.

Fingers slowly brushed over Kageyama’s dark hair, and he came back to reality with a jolt. He opened his eyes to see a tiny shadow leaning over him in the doorway’s light, which then disappeared as the room was bathed in only darkness again. He caught a quick glimpse of a long white scar as legs stepped over him, and Hinata’s face appeared next to his own as he lay down with his back pressed to the floor, his hands folded across his stomach. 

“Hey,” Hinata said softly, turning his face to look directly at Kageyama. Even in the dim light, Kageyama could see redness rimming the boy’s eyes from his own tears, but he wasn’t crying now. “I’m guessing you were spying on me. The guys told me you raced in here while I was outside.”

Kageyama didn’t say anything as he peered at Hinata through his fingers, his hands still pressed defensively close to his face.

“So you heard what I said after Miya left…” Hinata turned his face back towards the ceiling, letting out a small sniffle. “You seem pretty mad.”

“Of course I’m mad!” Kageyama exploded, ripping his hands away from his face and seizing the collar of Hinata’s shirt. “You complete idiot! How could you believe any of that shit?!”

In his fury, Kageyama had managed to shift into a kneeling position and had pulled Hinata rapidly up with him, suspending Hinata’s head inches away from the ground. Hinata’s face had gone white as a sheet, his eyes wide.

“I’m sorry…” Kageyama whispered, and carefully lowered Hinata’s head back to the floor. He released his grip on the boy’s shoulder and backed away from him, his own fingers shaking. “Did I hurt you?”

“No, I’m fine,” Hinata said as he pushed himself into a sitting position. 

“You’re crying, I must’ve done--”

“Kageyama,” Hinata said sternly, wiping a hand across his eyes. “You didn’t do anything. Just treated me like I’m fragile, like you have been since the beginning. I’m not. If anything, all of this has taught me that. So just… be normal with me.”

The tears hadn’t stopped pouring down Kageyama’s face, and he couldn’t help a whimper from escaping his lips as he saw the pain on Hinata’s face. It wasn’t pain felt from a wound, but from what Kageyama had done. In trying to get Hinata to be vulnerable with him all this time, Kageyama had been the one squashing Hinata’s own efforts to recover, in his own way. He had worn down Hinata’s hope by trying to be the one to provide it. He had broken Hinata even further.

“I’m sorry, I… I…” Kageyama began to babble, then leaned forward on his hands as his tears dotted the floor between them. “You’re so important to me, Hinata. I couldn’t just sit there and watch you fight all of that by yourself. You’re always supporting and encouraging everybody, I just wanted to do the same for you. But I made you feel like crap instead. I let you believe… such a stupid lie!”

Kageyama raised his head and looked Hinata directly in the eye, paying no attention to the tears that continued to stream out of his eyes and obscure his vision. “All of my goals are only attainable if you stay by my side, Hinata. You matter more than anything or anyone else. Get it through your thick skull: I need you.”

Hinata didn’t say a word, but reached forward and wrapped both arms around Kageyama, pressing his face into his shoulder. Kageyama instantly felt all of the tension leave his body, and he slumped forward with his head on top of Hinata’s. He pressed his arms lightly across Hinata’s back, and the two were silent for a long time, until both of their crying had subsided and they were breathing calmly again. 

The two finally pulled apart, and Hinata flopped back onto the ground, letting out a heavy sigh. Kageyama took up his spot on the floor next to Hinata, and they stared up at the ceiling together.

“Don’t ever say anything like that again,” Kageyama whispered quietly. “It’s so much the antithesis of who you are that I still want to barf. Don’t even _think_ anything like that again.”

“No promises,” Hinata said quietly, but then he started to laugh before Kageyama could sit up and slap him over the head. 

After a few minutes more of the two staring silently at the ceiling, Ukai’s strained voice came through the door. “Everything okay in there?”

Hinata flicked his eyes over to Kageyama, then sat up.

“Yes, sir. Everything is fine.” He leaned over to Kageyama and whispered. “Are you okay to head back out there? The rest of the team is probably really weirded out that we’re having this conversation in a storage closet.”

“Only if you are,” Kageyama sat up and stared hard at Hinata.

“I am,” Hinata smiled back, then stood. He offered a hand to Kageyama, and his smile grew even wider as Kageyama let him pull him to his feet. “I promise.”

Kageyama followed as Hinata pushed on the door, the soft evening light streaming through the gym windows washing slowly over his face. Every member of the team stood huddled in the middle of the court, whispering amongst themselves, and all heads popped up at the sight of the two emerging from the darkness. In one massive clump, the boys and girls, and adult advisors, of the Karasuno Men’s Volleyball Team began to sprint straight in their direction. Hinata turned and shot a goofy grin back at Kageyama before grabbing his wrist and breaking into a run towards the middle of the crowd. 

Kageyama began to laugh. He could hardly keep up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for sticking around to the end! I had so much fun writing this story and I really appreciate everyone who took the time to read and leave comments! Stay on the lookout for more Haikyuu!! stories in the future :)
> 
> Fanfic Tumblr: beccerslynnfics  
> Main Tumblr: beccerslynn97


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